


You Don't Have a Choice

by MariusAngelicaSue



Category: Deltarune (Video Game), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: "Im the oldest i have to be the responsible one wow what do i do", Angst, Child Frisk (Undertale), Family Dynamics, Fluff, Frisk is just a smol child that barely talks, Frisk not quite as much, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, It fills me with that determination to write, Kris is so tall and I love all the fanarts showing the height difference, Kris is trying to be the responsible and protective one here, Kris talks a lot, Look I just really love all that fanart with Kris alongside Chara and Frisk, Nonbinary Kris (Deltarune), Spoilers, and they're just like, but i gotta wait for the train to finish falling before I put it back on the rails, i swear i want fluff, so i wrote a story about it, these scenes are gonna get hard with the two main characters having the same pronouns, this got way angstier than i expected
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2019-08-19 15:10:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16536992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariusAngelicaSue/pseuds/MariusAngelicaSue
Summary: Kris isn't sure as to how they traveled to that strange fantasy world with Susie, but they sure want to go back, and in control this time. After an especially brutal possession that night, they can't wait, and end up going back almost immediately.Except when this time they find themselves falling through the floor, they land on a soft bed of flowers, and wake to see the scared eyes of a younger child staring down at them.Kris isn't used to being the older sibling. They're not sure if they can start now.





	1. Fallen Down

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a day after finishing Deltarune yet I have like four other fanfics I need to write please help me I've lost control of my life
> 
> Don't expect this to update anytime soon due to the aforementioned other fanfics that need to be finished first, but I just wanted to get this first chapter out of my head before it killed me

Kris woke with a start in their stiff, cold bed, panting frantically and sweat dripping down their neck. They gripped the front of their shirt tightly, feeling the beating of their soul inside and a sense of relief that it was no longer trapped in that freezing, rusted cage. Kris stared down at their own fingers, flexing them open and closed, taking deep breaths and relishing in the control that they held. 

These random spurts of... _ possession  _ were terrifying for Kris, and yet they were also a common occurrence in their life. Every few nights they’d feel something slip into their skin at an eerily consistent rate, walking around and observing the town. On unfortunate days the... _ thing  _ that attached itself to their body would arrive during the morning and stay for the day, acting abnormally and making everyone around them uncomfortable. Kris had learned to live with it (even if they couldn’t ever be happy about it). 

But that day changed when Kris had woken up the previous morning with no control once again, and instead of living an average school day they found themselves plummeted into the depths of a strange fantasy realm along with the resident bully, Susie. 

And they didn’t have a single bit of control over themselves. The entire. Time. 

Sure, there were random spurts of autonomy that Kris had managed to push through with sheer willpower, but the majority of their time spent alongside Ralsei, Susie, and Lancer was them anxiously waiting for whatever being controlling them to screw everything over, just like always. Thankfully, it seemed that the demon had decided to be merciful that day, allowing their troupe of heroes to bring peace to the Dark World in the way Ralsei had hoped for. 

After that, the demon had Kris walk around town, say a couple strange things to their neighbors (especially that new skeleton in the blue coat), before going to bed. That’s when the real nightmares began. 

The demon had forced them out of their bed again, clenching its fists, and  _ ripped  _ Kris’ soul out of their own body and thrown it into that all too familiar birdcage. Kris was never sure why it had started to do this during the night. Was it displeased with the little amounts of resistance Kris put up? They weren’t sure. All they knew is that they would watch their own body crawl out of the window at night and disappear entirely. 

However, this night was different, as Kris observed. Looking out the window, they could tell that it was still night time, and a quick look at their phone confirmed that it was still the same day. Why was Kris back in control so quickly? The night hadn’t even ended. Had the demon gotten bored? Reached whatever goals it had with Kris’ body? They couldn’t know. 

However, after that particularly painful extraction from before, and this rare opportunity in front of them, Kris realized that they needed to go back, to see the Dark World again, be able to truly say hello to Ralsei and the others with their own voice, their own mouth. 

Kris tiptoed through the house, making sure not to wake their mother as the front door to the house creaked open a little too loudly. They breathed out a sigh of relief when the door shut without a squeak, and they were outside amongst the crickets and owls. 

Hearing their own footsteps on the road in such calm silence was a strange feeling, as if they were the only person left in the world. Kris wondered if the demon felt the same way, walking through the night with their body. 

The thought of the thing only made Kris’ steps a little faster. 

It wasn’t until Kris reached the school that they realized a fatal flaw in their plan: the doors were all locked. And Kris didn’t know how to pick them. 

Kris frowned, thinking of possible options.  _ What would Susie do?  _ She’d probably bust through a window, maybe set off a few alarms in the process. _ Ralsei?  _ He’d probably hope there was a key under a doormat somewhere, or have everyone wait for dawn. 

Hm. Maybe Kris could try something in the middle, not too aggressive but not nearly as passive. 

They circled around the school, keeping a close eye on every window in what little light they had from the half moon up above. 

And that was when they saw it, the lack of a reflection coming from one of the windows. 

Kris knew that Professor Alphys liked to keep one of the windows open to allow fresh air to get into the classroom, especially with it being spring and all. And characteristically of Professor Alphys, she’d left the window slightly ajar today. Kris quietly wondered if the forgetfulness was due to anxiety over their whereabouts, the lizard had seemed really relieved to see them before (even if it wasn’t  _ really  _ them). 

With just enough force and a little bit of flexibility, Kris managed to squirm their way through the small crack in the window and land on the floor of the classroom, the impact echoing through the room. 

If walking through the streets at night been uncanny, walking through an empty school at night was downright eerie, with the completely silent opening of the doors contrasted against the loud  _ bang  _ they’d make hitting the doorway. Kris expected something to come out of each of the classroom doors, with how dark they could see the room was inside. 

Eventually, Kris was at the two large doors to the supply closet once again. It didn’t have that same foreboding atmosphere that they had experienced along with Susie the first time, but it still had a strange presence surrounding it, making Kris hope that it would still be able to transport them. Remembering how it had been locked by the time they had arrived back, Kris reached out a hand to tentatively test if that was still the case. 

It wasn’t. The large blue doors of the closet easily gave to the push, and Kris almost stumbled in. The strange ambience in the area only got stronger as they stepped through, looking at the papers scattering the floor. The room was just as impossibly dark as before, but this time there was something slightly different. 

Hanging in the air, Kris could just smell the faintest waft of flowers. 

They didn’t have long to think about that though, as the door slammed shut once more and the floor’s tiles fell apart beneath their feet. As their stomach instinctually plummeted a little from the sudden fall, Kris couldn’t help but feel excited at the prospect of finally seeing all their friends without the filter of possession in between it. 

 

~<O>~

 

Kris’ senses came back to them one at a time, just like before when they’d fallen. For a brief, terrifying second, the only thing Kris could feel was the armor encapsulating their body: everything was dark and quiet. 

It didn’t take long to notice suddenly overpowering smell of the flowers from before, though. Now that it completely surrounded them, Kris was able to take in a deep breath of it and recognize it as that strange one Asgore kept in his garden. What was it doing here? Last time Kris woke up in the Dark World they were in that strange area with the cotton monsters and creaking plants. 

“H-hello?”

Kris’ eyes snapped open at the unfamiliar voice, and they quickly sat up, hearing the shifting of their armor at the movement. In front of them was a tiny child, who gave a small “eep!” and took a step back at Kris’ jolt. Kris looked down at them with furrowed eyebrows: Their hairstyle was similar to that of Kris’, with the brown bowl cut and long bangs almost completely covering their eyes. However, it was clear that they were much younger, with the pink and blue sweater reaching close to their knees and easily being a couple heads smaller than Kris. They seemed to have some old bandages wrapped around one arm, and a pathetically thin twig gripped in their hands.  

_ What is another human doing here? How is that even possible?  _ Kris was dumbfounded, their mouth slightly ajar. 

The child’s face was contorted in fear, their hands held close to their chest, and Kris took a quick glance around the surrounding area. 

It was completely dark, aside from the one beam of light coming from up above, nourishing the soft bed of yellow flowers the two of them were sitting on. 

It was nothing like what Kris had first woken up in, and nothing like anything Kris had seen in the Dark World so far. 

What was going on?

“Um...Knight? You’re a knight, right?” The child’s voice was meek, and Kris glanced back over to them. The child took a step forward, looking confused and a little scared, but coming closer nonetheless, and Kris noticed that their eyes almost. “What...are you doing here?”

Kris looked back down at themself, seeing their bright iron armour and pink scarf.  _ Everything about me seems to be the same. Why is this all different? How did a human get out here? _

Kris frowned, looking back at the child. “I...I don’t know.”

The child didn’t seem to like that response, with the way they swallowed nervously, and they tentatively offered a small hand. “Are you hurt?”

Kris reached out to receive the hand, before hesitating and shaking their head. “No, I’m fine,” they responded, standing up on their own and towering over little kid. Geez, they were  _ really  _ small compared to Kris. They weren’t used to being around kids this young. “Um...what’s your name, kid?” Kris internally cringed at the nickname, remembering how much they hate hearing it back when they were younger.

“Frisk,” the human said, seemingly not bothered by the awkward nickname. “Who are you?”

“I’m Kris, the Lightner.” 

Frisk frowned. “Lightner?”

“Have you never heard of us before?” Kris raised an eyebrow, getting on one knee so they were at eye level with Frisk. “The legend about the Lightners and the dark fountains?”

“N-no...what’s a dark fountain?”

Kris’ frown deepened.  _ Is this kid from the real world, just like me? _

_ No, that doesn’t make any sense.  _

Kris stood back up and held out a hand. “Come on, kid,” Kris made sure to speak with the gentlest voice they could muster. “The Dark World’s not a safe place, we’re going to have to be careful.”

Kris didn’t notice the slight look of confusion from the child as Frisk hesitantly took Kris’ hand, and the two began to walk out of the room side by side. 

 

~<O>~

 

Frisk stared down at the ground, lost in thought. 

What had Chara done with their deal? Hadn’t they promised to bring back this world once they had Frisk’s soul?

Why was this new human here? Were they Chara in disguise? Someone else? Was Frisk in someone else’s world, rather than a newly created one?

Frisk sighed. Only time could tell, they supposed. 


	2. Your Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kris has a fun time with the friendly guide of the Underground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhhhhhh I was not expecting such a huge response, you guys are gonna surpass Road Trip in like another week wtf is going on thank you so much!
> 
> A couple things I wanted to clear up off the bat (they'd be explained/revealed later, but I thought now would be a good time)
> 
> There's a lot of theories and headcanons as to what's going on in deltarune, so here's a list of the ones that I've accepted for this fic: 
> 
> \--The player/Chara regularly possesses Kris, and had completely possessed Kris for the duration of the deltarune game, as shown by the save file. I still think Kris is genuinely kind though, as any moments where the player isn't in control of Kris has them helping others. The heart ripout scene  
> at the end is done by Chara regularly, either for better control over Kris or to not have to take soul damage or something, I'm not sure.  
> \--This world is essentially a switch-around of the world of Undertale, where nearly all humans have been banished and as such only monsters inhabit the place, with Kris being the one exception. This is evidenced by both the complete lack of any visible humans, and the monsters treating Kris like some sort of rare occurrence and even a celebrity, not knowing what “it feels like to be made of blood.”
> 
> I'm not that happy with the pacing of the first chapter (considering I had written it in like one hour late at night), so I might make changes to it as this story progresses. They shouldn't be major ones, just improving the pace of the events so it doesn't all feel so rushed.
> 
> Also, I have no idea how long each chapter is going to be, and I have no plans to keep it consistent. Rn the third chapter is either gonna be like 3k words or fuckin 7k idk im just like word vomiting this story out lord help me 
> 
>  
> 
> enjoy!

The hallway was dark, and Kris made sure to keep their arm outstretched in front of them so that the two of them didn’t bump into anything. Frisk was surprisingly quiet and compliant, holding tightly onto Kris’ metal glove and not saying a single word as the two of them walked. It was an unusual sight, considering the children Kris was used to seeing in their neighborhood were far more noisy, playing games and making dares to see which one would get the closest to the “mysterious human” of the town. Heck, even kids Kris’ age were a lot more discordant, threatening to bite off faces and whatnot. Btu who knows, perhaps children at this certain age often had a bit of a mellow period? Kris wouldn’t know, they tended to avoid younger kids as much as possible. Part of it was out of distaste, but as they’d gotten older it came more out of a sense of fear of the demon that had started to haunt their life.

Kris glanced down at the small child, who’s face almost seemed to be screwed up in worry. Were they afraid of the dark?

Kris could relate somewhat to the feeling, what with the feeling of dread they’d get every time night came. Kris knew the demon only took rest in their body when they were asleep, and it had taken a long time and a lot of effort from Toriel (who just thought that Kris was suffering from night terrors) to convince Kris to not constantly stay up all night. What eventually made them change their mind was the slow realization that staying up wasn't going to do anything to stop the demon, and was just delaying the inevitable.

Still, just because something was inevitable didn't mean Kris had to like it.  

Kris doubted that Frisk could relate to such a strangely specific experience, thought. It was probably the more common fears of scary things under the bed, like that fear Noelle had when she was little. Kris knew they weren’t good at helping others with fears like that--case in point the prank they had decided to pull on Noelle--and had absolutely no idea how to help someone so young on top of that. Eventually, they opted to tightly squeeze the kid’s hand, hoping that it’d send the right message and comfort them.

For the briefest moments, it almost seemed to work, as Frisk almost subconsciously shifted closer to Kris as they moved along.

However, that brief moment of triumph was cut short as Frisk suddenly stopped walking with a hitch in their breath, and Kris looked back up to realize why.

Up ahead was another spot of light shining down from up above, but instead of another bed of yellow-petaled flowers thriving underneath there was just a single, bouncing flower.

And it had a _face._

Kris frowned, stopping a few feet short of it. _This_ was certainly a new sight. Although, they supposed, they had entered a world full of playing card people just the day before, so perhaps this was just another strange element in this new, strange world?

The flower’s eyes (could they call them that?) briefly widened, before its face split into a wide grown. “Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower!”

Kris frowned, furrowing their eyebrows. The way the flower spoke, it seemed... _familiar,_ for some reason. Still, whatever connection Kris tried to draw seemed to sputter into nothingness, and they simply disregarded the feeling as deja vu.

“Hmmm,” Flowey tilted his head. “You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha?”

Kris decided not to respond, but they saw Frisk gave a small nod from behind Kris’ legs, where they had decided to hide for some reason.

“Golly, you two must be so confused!” Flowey’s smile grew even wider, and a part of Kris wondered how the heck a flower had cheeks. “Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!

“I guess little old me will have to do,” Flowey sighed. “Ready?”

Kris tilted their head, wondering what the flower was up to. Flowey seemed to continue despite the clear suspicion emanating from Kris. “Here we go!”

Immediately, Kris felt the temperature in the room cool as a familiar sensation of their soul being exposed came over the two of them. Kris looked down to see two red glows, one coming from each of the human’s chest, and felt panic course through them.

Kris immediately stepped into a battle stance, pulling out their shield and keeping a hand close to their sheathed sword. Why the heck was this weird looking flower about to attack them? What was going on?!

Cautious, Kris slowly adjusted their position to make sure that Frisk was behind them. If this was about to break into a fight for whatever reason, they didn’t want the kid to get hurt. Flowey seemed surprisingly unconcerned at Kris’ reaction, prattling on and explaining to each of them what their souls were. It was strangely reminiscent of the tutorial that Ralsei had first given Kris, although the prince wasn’t nearly as creepy, and far more fluffy.

“You want some LOVE, don’t you?” Flowey winked. Kris grimaced. “Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!”

Dainty little white dots sparked off of the flower’s body, and Kris felt their mind devolve into only more confusion as Flowey explained that these were _not,_ in fact, harmful obstacles that could damage the soul if touched, but instead “friendliness pellets.”

It was strange to say the least, but for all Kris knew, the Underground (or whatever Flowey had called it) didn’t work the same as the Dark World. Kris decided to play along.

“Run around! Catch as many as you can!”

Kris tensed up as the tiny pellets were flung towards them, but they didn’t move to dodge out of the way. _Do these dots actually help? What are the rules of this place?_

They had so many questions swimming through their head, and they knew that the only way to answer them was to let this flower teach them. After all, the flower didn’t seem to be outwardly hostile, perhaps Kris was being too paranoid?

Kris was suddenly snapped out of their thoughts as they felt something tightly grip the fabric of their pants. Looking down, they could see Frisk looking back up at them with a worried expression and giving a small whimper.

They looked terrified.

Kris reacted almost instantly, holding their shield back up and blocking off the incoming projectiles. “Frisk,” Kris whispered, not sure if they wanted the flower to hear them talking. “Are you okay?”

Frisk only looked more scared, and they shook their head, holding onto Kris’ leg even more tightly.

“Hey, buddy,” Kris looked over as Flowey spoke up. He had an incredulous look on his face as he summoned more pellets. “You, uh, blocked them. Let’s try that again!”

Once again more bullets were flung towards the two of them, and Kris pushed them aside with their shield. Flowey looked irritated. “Are you an idiot? You want LOVE, don’t you? Run. Into. Them!”

Kris didn’t oblige, blocking the attack again.

Flowey’s face twisted into a pale and bony skull, catching Kris off guard and making the two humans step back.

“You know what’s going on here, don’t you?” The flower’s high-pitched voice was distorted, now tinged with a growl that sounded like grating metal. “You just wanted to see me suffer.”

Kris raised an eyebrow. They felt that they weren’t on the same page as this deranged flower.

A flash of white suddenly surrounded the two of them, and Kris’ eyes widened at the realization that it was a wall of pale, sharp flower petals. They began to close in, and Kris heard a rough, scratchy voice echo through it.

“ _Die._ ”

Reacting quickly, Kris grabbed onto Frisk’s hand, and charged through the tightening wall of bullets with their shield. They felt the sting of a few bumping into their armor, but a quick glance back showed that Frisk was fine if a little shocked.

Kris turned back to Flowey with a glare, pulling out their sword. The way this thing acted, how he reveled in violence and deception, it all reminded Kris of the Spade King, and with that comparison Kris knew that there was only one way to get around someone like this.

Kris rushed forward, swinging their sword down at the plant, which promptly sank into the dirt and vanished without a trace. Kris felt themself pause for a moment, wondering if Flowey had run away, before they suddenly felt something prickly wrap around their ankle.

Kris had just a brief second to look down and see the thorny vines growing from the earth before they were suddenly jolted to the side and crashed into the ground, their sword stumbling away from them.

Dozens of white bullets materialized above them, and Kris quickly rolled out of the way to dodge them, feeling a few brush up against their soul with a sharp, stinging pain that made Kris wince. They reached over and grabbed their sword again, cutting through the vines trying to hold them down, and shakily stood back up. They saw the flower emerge back into the spotlight.

“Well golly, you’re awfully tough, aren’tcha?” Flowey gave an innocent little wink, and Kris only glared at him, panting as they worked to catch their breath. At the reaction, Flowey’s smile twisted into a too-wide grin filled with enormous teeth. “It’s such a shame you couldn’t be a little _smarter,_ too!”

Kris felt something suddenly wrap around their beating soul, and they instinctively froze on contact, thinking back to the dozen nights where they had grasped it with their own hands-

The vines wrapped around Kris forced them down to the ground, and circles upon circles of bullets surrounded them with no escape in sight.

Kris vaguely heard Frisk calling out their name in terror as the white pellets began raining down on Kris’ soul over and over again, but the child’s scream was soon drowned out by the maniacal laughter coming from the flower. Kris’ whole world shook with each attack, their soul flickering in and out of focus as it kept taking damage.

It wasn’t long until Kris realized that they were running out of willpower, their body getting weaker and more tired. Their soul was trembling faintly, barely able to keep itself together, and Flowey could see it. The grim smile on his face widened, and a single bullet began rushing towards Kris.

They heard Frisk yell something, and Kris squeezed their eyes shut in preparation of the impact, when a sudden rush of heat appeared in front of Kris, and no attack came.

The knight tentatively opened up their eyes, shocked to see a wall of flames in front of them, blocking any and all incoming bullets from Flowey.

The flower looked just as confused, but before he could react another ball of fire appeared, crashing into him and making him blast across the room. He bounced off the opposite wall, and the moment he hit the ground, he vanished.

Kris furrowed their eyebrows in confusion as the wall of flames vanished, and Kris shakily turned around to see if that attack had been Frisk’s doing. It was still not their turn though, and their gaze was clearly focused up ahead.

Following Frisk, Kris looked back ahead, and the air caught in their lungs as they saw a familiar monster standing in front of them. She may have been wearing strange robes and spoke a little differently, but Kris could recognize that sweet and motherly smile anywhere.

“Mom?” Kris whispered, their body shaking from exhaustion.

And with that, everything went dark as Kris finally lost consciousness.

  



	3. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two fallen humans talk it out, and Frisk learns a lot more than Kris does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who was halfway through writing a chapter and decided "fuckit" and posted what she had?

Kris could barely register that they were waking up, with the soft warmth enveloping them. They didn’t even  _ want  _ to wake up, they were so comfortable. Still, they felt something solid prodding into their side, and it was starting to bother them.  

Kris stirred, shifting in the...bed? They opened their eyes, taking in the quiet, dark room around them. They were in a bedroom, with a pair of twin beds, one on each side. The room was almost symmetrical, with the placements of the bedside tables and dressers mirroring each other. 

It was painfully reminiscent of home. 

_ Home. Mom!  _ Kris suddenly sat up in the bed, the covers sliding down, and Kris realized that they were still in their armor. Glancing back around, they could now see a cold slice of pie on their bedside table, a fork at the side and ready to be eaten. Even more interesting was the lump under the sheets of the other bed.

Kris swung their legs to the edge of the bed, and their metal boots tapped against the floor a little loudly. The lump on the other end of the room stirred, and Kris felt their heart stop at the sight of...well,  _ themself  _ sitting up in the bed: The brown hair, the green and yellow shirt, everything. They just looked a little younger. 

The mini-them tilted their head, rubbing their closed eyes. “...Kris? You’re awake?”

The breath that Kris had been holding was suddenly released.  _ Not me.  _ “Frisk, where did you get that shirt?”

Frisk hopped out of the bed and began walking towards them. “Toriel. She has lots of them,” they tilted their head. “She said she didn’t have anything for your size, though.”

Kris frowned. “We’re...in Toriel’s house?”

“That’s what she said. She called it home.”

“Did you meet anyone else?”

“I uh, made some friends on the way here.”

“Like what?”

“Just some frogs and flies,” Frisk shrugged. “Why do you ask?”

Kris chewed the inside of their cheek.  _ Where is Asriel? What is mom doing here? What is going  _ on?

“Um, Kris?”

Kris blinked, glancing over at Frisk, who was looking down at their hands, wringing them over and over. “You...you called Toriel ‘mom,’ before you passed out.”

“Oh,” Kris said in a monotone voice, not sure how to respond. “That I did.”

Frisk furrowed their eyebrows. “...Why?” Their voice was quiet. 

Kris sighed, looking down at their own hands, and then at the rest of the room. Nothing here was making any  _ sense,  _ and Kris was beginning to doubt if they could figure it all out on their own. All they knew was that they were  _ certainly  _ not in the Dark World, and that was barely anything to go by. They might as well tell Frisk about it, the kid deserved a proper explanation anyway. 

“Back on the surface...I call Toriel ‘mom,’ that’s why.”

Kris proceeded to explain far more than they’d intended to tell Frisk, explaining who their family was, how they first ended up in the Dark World with Susie, how they wanted to come down a second time, and how they’d woken up here. 

They didn’t tell Frisk about the demon or all of those awful nights, though. They didn’t want to scare the poor kid. 

Frisk looked shocked at Kris’ story, but not in an incredulous way, no, the child was absorbing every single detail Kris was giving them. They were an incredibly listener, staying completely silent, their posture retaining a thoughtful demeanor throughout the entire story as they sat at the end of Kris’ bed. 

“You’re...you’re not really blue?”

Kris shook their head, feeling a dry chuckle escape their lips. “No, I’m not sure why I change appearance and clothing, but on the surface I’ve got pale skin, brown hair, and I usually wear a green and yellow sweater, like the one you’ve got.”

Kris heard Frisk’s breath hitch, and they looked over to see the child’s eyes wide open, the unfamiliar sight of their deep brown irises catching Kris off guard. “Kid? Are you okay?”

“You’re...you’re like the photos…” Frisk’s voice was barely audible. 

Kris narrowed their eyes. “What?”

Frisk quickly scrambled off the bed, running over to one of the desks in the room, and grabbing a photo frame off of it. 

“You look like them!” Frisk ran back, holding up the photo to the older child. Kris carefully took the photo from their hands, staring at the image with wide eyes. 

It was their family, and yet  _ not _ . They could see their mom and Asgore, still happily married and holding hands, and Kris could see themself standing next to Asriel, still very young and striking a pose. Their parents had strange outfits, with long, violet robes adorned with symbols Kris could remember seeing in the Dark World. They were all standing in front of a violet mountain range, seemingly happy. 

The sight made Kris’ stomach chill over. They looked at every detail of the photo, staring at it with extreme focus, trying to figure it out because none of it made any  _ sense.  _

Kris couldn’t remember  _ ever  _ taking a picture like this.

“Who are these people?” Kris murmured.

“I...think it’s Toriel’s family,” Frisk glanced to the side. “I haven’t seen any of them around, though. Do you recognize them, too?”

“No…”

“Oh, you don’t?”

“No, no I do!” Kris’ voice rose as they began to get a little panicked. ”That’s the problem, I recognize these people, I see  _ myself,  _ but I don’t recognize this photo! We’ve never visited a mountain range that looks  _ anything  _ like this, and mom and Asgore never wore things like this! Asgore likes Hawaii shirts, not weird flowing robes!”

“R-really?” Frisk’s voice was strange, as Kris swore that they sounded both confused and hopeful. “Maybe they’re not you’re family, then.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Do...do you think you’re from another world?”

Kris narrowed their eyes. “Another world like, the Dark World?”

Frisk shook their head. “No, like another world like yours, but different by just a little…?” Their voice grew in pitch, like they weren’t completely sure of what they were saying. “What’s it called...after...alternative…”

“Alternate universe?” Kris completed, and Frisk’s expression brightened. 

“That’s it!”

“...You think I’ve been transported from another universe?” Kris raised their eyebrow, and Frisk nodded. 

Kris chewed on their cheek, looking back down at the photo. “That’s...not a bad idea, actually. Do you think mo-Toriel has any books about the history of this...place?”

“I saw some books next to the fireplace.”

“I’ll check those out, then. Alternate universe, huh…” Kris rubbed a hand across their face, mumbling to themself, before giving a little chuckle as a strange thought popped into their head. “If you’re right, do you think I’ll meet myself, then?”

Frisk’s expression froze over at the question, seemingly in thought, before they vigorously  shook their head. “No. I don’t think so.”

 

~<O>~

 

“Oh, you’re awake!”

Toriel was sitting by a fireplace, her glasses on and a book in her lap. The outfitmade Kris think she was getting ready to go to school, to teach all of those younger monsters like she did back in their world. “Are you feeling better?”

Kris nodded.  

“Oh thank goodness, that flower that attacked you two was so awful! I left a slice of some butterscotch cinnamon pie by your bed.”

The thought of having some of that pie that was such a staple of home made Kris’ throat tighten all the more at the fact that it was being served by a mother seemingly unable to recognize her own child. 

“Th-thanks…” Kris finally managed to choke out, and Toriel nodded with a warm smile before returning to her book. 

Kris looked around the room, their eyes immediately settling in on the bookshelf. They gestured towards it, catching Toriel’s attention. “Can I…”

“Of course! Read as many as you like.”

Nodding, Kris walked over and began reading over the spines. Many were about snails and their various uses and facts, but others had labels such as “History of Monsters” and such. Kris took several books from the latter category and soon made their way back to the bedroom, dropping the stack on the floor and returning back to the living room. 

“Do you have any paper and string?”

Toriel guided Kris towards her crafts supplies that were in her bedroom, and Kris got a look around the area while she rummaged through her drawers. It was well-lived in, but had a surprising amount of empty space due to how large the room was. There was a blocked off room at the end of the hallway that Kris had assumed was Asgore’s due to the photo, and they could only imagine how large  _ that  _ room was. 

Soon enough, Kris had the supplies they’d asked for, with paper in a variety of colors, some strong red string, and even a pair of kids scissors. 

They all ended up on the floor next to the pile of books in Kris’ room. 

Frisk walked over from their bed, looking curiously at Kris’ workspace. They pointed at all the items, a confused expression on their face. At times, Frisk didn’t seem to want to talk anymore, and Kris was struggling a little to understand everything that Frisk was nonverbally asking. However, they able to understand this question, at least. 

“These are all books that Toriel has about the history of monsters,” Kris explained. “I’m sure I can find the root as to why everything’s so different here in one of these. I’m going to use all this paper to make a bit of a notebook and write down all my notes.”

Frisk raised their eyebrows, seemingly impressed by it all, before glancing over at the slice of pie on Kris’ bedside table and pointing at that. 

“Oh, that,” Kris stood up and walked over to the plate and placed a finger on the pie: it had gone cold. “I’m not sure if I’ll eat this whole thing.”

They took a tentative bite at the end of the pie, immediately regretting their decision. The taste immediately took them back to memories of sitting in the living room with Asriel, back when their parents were still together and happy, and it filled them with both a serious nostalgia as well as an aching homesickness that was accentuated by the fact that they  _ weren’t  _ home. 

“Yeah, I’m not eating it,” Kris put the pie back onto the plate, turning towards Frisk. “Do you want to eat it?”

Frisk gave a small smile, nodding, and Kris looked around the room. “Let me just cut off the part where I’ve already touched it, I’m sure I can ask Toriel for a knife-“

“No knives!” Frisk’s loud voice suddenly cut off Kris, and they looked at the younger child in surprise. 

Frisk’s face was frantic and panicked, their arms up in the air and shaking. Kris furrowed their eyebrows at the reaction. “Is...is something wrong?”

“Just...just no knives,” Frisk curled in on themselves, pressing their arms close to their chest. 

Kris frowned, seeing that Frisk wasn’t going to elaborate further, and sighed. “Well, I’m not going to try and cut this thing with my sword, so are you fine with just taking the pie as is? I promise I don’t have cooties.”

A small smile pushed its way through Frisk’s twisted expression, and they nodded a little. 

The kid didn’t talk much after that, and Kris couldn’t help but feel a nagging bit of worry at the whole situation. However, they always remembered how much they hated when Asgore would keep pushing at Kris in an attempt to be a good father, and how much they preferred going to Asriel for their problems. Their brother never said much while Kris was talking, but he would still show his support, his  _ understanding,  _ with just his presence, sitting next to Kris on their bed. 

Crap, they were missing home again, with an added dose of painful nostalgia. 

“Hey, Frisk?” Kris spoke up before they could stop themselves. The child looked back at them, not having touched the pie yet. “Do you want to read these books with me?”

Frisk’s expression immediately brightened at the offer, and they nodded vigorously. “You tell me about your home?”

“‘Course,” Kris sat down, folding some of the paper and beginning to poke holes through the stack. “Maybe you can tell me about yours too?”

Frisk’s face fell. Kris could tell that they’d tripped over a landmine again, and felt cold regret settle in their throat. But before the moment could last for long, a small, almost comforting smile appeared on the child’s face. “I don’t have much to say,” they dismissed. “I’m fine with just listening.”

“Alright then,” Kris was relieved to feel the tense moment pass, and resumed their work on the makeshift notebook. “What color should I write these notes in? Toriel has a  _ lot _ of crayons.” 

 

~<O>~

 

The history of monsters and humans in this world, Kris realized, was  _ very  _ different from their world back home, and basically confirmed Frisk’s idea of the alternate universe. 

Kris pulled out the blue crayon, writing down in their notebook.

_ Humans won the war here. All the monsters are stuck underground.  _

_ Asgore is a  _ _ KING?! _

_ Still not with mom though  _

 

“Asgore? The king from the books? He’s your father?” Frisk was crouched next to Kris, reading their notes over their shoulder. 

“Yeah, he used to be married with Toriel. They divorced several years ago, but I still visit him often. He’s still a dad to me, I guess, and Toriel doesn’t mind.” 

“That’s  _ weird, _ ” Frisk chewed on the inside of their cheek. “Does that mean that Toriel is a queen?”

Kris shrugged, making a small doodle of Asgore in a crown. “Maybe? It’s possible that Asgore became a king after she left him, and I don’t think she wants me asking.”

Kris gave a small sigh, closing the book and setting all of the history books aside. “I think that’s enough I can get from all of these. Are your legs asleep too?”

Frisk furrowed their eyebrows, as if they were thinking for a moment, before shaking both of their legs and giving a small nod.

Kris chuckled a little, before standing up and stretching their back, feeling the small pops erupt from the minute movements. “You mentioned finding some frogs and flies on the way here. Do you know where exactly this place is?”

“Toriel called this place the Ruins. Looks like an old city. Why do you ask?”

Kris raised their eyebrows. “Old city? How many people live here?”

“I’m not sure,” Frisk frowned, before holding out a hand. “I saw a nice view of the city nearby. Do you want to see it?”

“Sure,” Kris smiled a little, taking Frisk’s hand. “Lead the way, kid.”

 

~<O>~

 

The dim lights of the Ruins left the brick with a distinct purple tint, yet despite the darkness Kris couldn’t help but feel at ease as they stepped over the red, withered leaves up at the front of Toriel’s house. The dark tree looked mostly normal with its dark and gnarled body and empty branches--no doubt the source of the numerous leaves--but Kris’ eyes caught onto a glint of light at its roots that made Kris’ breath hitch. 

It was a familiar sight in the Dark World, and Kris found themselves frantically wondering what it was doing down here, in the Underground. 

The star that allowed Kris to move back in time. 

They glanced over at Frisk, who was still holding onto their hand and dragging Kris through the room, moving the pass by the tree. With each step they got closer to the dead plant, and the light of the star got brighter and brighter, and Kris knew how obviously they were staring at it at that point. The image of that strange, devilish flower from before and Kris began to feel nervous. The Underground was dangerous, and Flowey had been a tough opponent, even if Kris had had their friends to support them. 

Wouldn’t it be better to have a safety net of some kind?

Frisk was about to pull them past the tree, leaving the star out of sight, when Kris decided to pull their hand free from the child. They looked back at Kris in confusion, and the knight shrugged, not knowing what to say to them. They remembered how they were the only one that had been able to see the strange stars in the Dark World; Ralsei and Susie had often commented as to why Kris would randomly stop in the path, and they always struggled to answer their questions. 

Luckily, the presence of the demon throughout their life taught them how to be really good at excuses. 

“Sorry, Frisk, I just swear that I saw something in the roots. Just, lemme check it out for a second.”

The child furrowed their eyebrows, but hesitantly nodded. Giving a tight smile, Kris quickly moved to the side of the tree, reaching for the star in an almost automatic way. The light of the star shined through Kris’ fingers as their fist closed around the star…

And passed straight through. 

Kris felt their mind stop for a brief moment as they processed what had just happened, before trying to grab at the star again, only to get the same result. 

Kris’ eyebrows furrowed as panic and worry began to set in, their hand frantically waving back and forth through the star.  _ What’s going on…? _

“Um...Kris?”

The knight froze, looking over to see Frisk staring at them with a confused expression as they wrung their hands. “What are you doing?”

Kris swallowed, feeling a drop of sweat form in their anxiety. “Um, well, you see-”

“You can see it too? The save point?” Frisk didn’t let Kris finish their explanation. 

Kris stared at the child, their mouth agape. “The...the save point?”

“The glowing star. You can see it right?” Frisk crouched down, placing their palm over the star and resting it down, making Kris’ eyes widen in shock

“It’s called a save point? How do you know what it’s called?”

“I’ve…” Frisk bit their lip, gripping the star in a tight fist before releasing it. “I’ve seen them before, on the surface. I just call them that”

“Weird…” Kris murmured. “I’ve only ever seen them in the Dark World.”

“Maybe it’s another thing about the alternate universe situation?”

“Huh, sounds possible. How come only you can touch them though? Do you think it recognizes me as uh...foreign, I guess?”

“I’m not sure,” Frisk frowned. “Why not go through the rest of the Ruins? I saw some more save points around here.”

“Sure, let’s get back to checking out that view, actually. I’m curious.”

Frisk took hold of Kris’ hand again, leading them through a couple more rooms in the Ruins, before pulling Kris through a doorway to reveal a large opening. Kris felt a small breeze rustle their hair, and their eyes widened as they saw a large city expand below them from the balcony. 

“The Ruins are this big?” 

Frisk nodded. “I’ve only been in this upper part of the Ruins though, Toriel was worried about getting home as soon as possible to heal you.”

“The books said that this place was a city, but I guess that fact never really settled in for me.”

“Yeah…” Frisk murmured, resting their arms on the edge of the balcony. Kris walked up to their side, looking down at the drop before them. 

It wasn’t that big, surprisingly enough. 

Kris got an idea. 

“Hey, Frisk,” the child’s expression perked up at their name, but it quickly devolved into panic and confusion as they saw Kris climbing the balcony. “Why not explore?”

Without waiting for a response, Kris swung their legs over the edge and pushed off, landing a little roughly on the roof of an old building underneath. They looked back up to see Frisk looking down at them, completely shocked at what Kris had just done. The knight frowned at the reaction. “Is it too high a jump for you?”

Frisk bit down on their lip, their shoulders closing in on themselves. Kris furrowed their eyebrows, and opened up their arms. “I can catch you, if you’d like. Is that what you’re worried about?”

Frisk didn’t respond, simply looking off into the distance. Kris wondered what they were thinking, or what they were staring at. Were they worried that Toriel would get mad at the two of them? Or something else? And why did they look so  _ confused  _ about it all?

Frisk looked back down. “Are you sure you’ll catch me?”

Kris smiled, keeping their arms wide open. “Promise.”

Nodding, Frisk began to crawl over the edge of the balcony, and slowly began to hang off of the edge. It was obvious that they were having trouble being able to see Kris, who was positioning themself underneath the child. “Don’t worry Frisk, I’m ready. You can let go!”

The child gave a small whine, closing their eyes tightly, and letting themself drop. Frisk landed in Kris’ arms with a sudden  _ thud,  _ making the knight stumble a little at the impact. However, when they looked down, they saw Frisk curled in their arms, smiling and giggling. “I can’t believe we did that,” they grinned. 

Kris smiled, quirking an eyebrow. “What? Is this against the rules or something?”

“No, it’s just…” Frisk looked over at the other buildings. “I’ve never gone down here before.”

“What do you mean? Did you explore the Ruins before I woke up?”

Frisk didn’t respond at that, simply squirming a little and hopping out of Kris’ arms and onto the roof, looking over at the other buildings. They looked back at Kris with a wide smile on their face. “Let’s explore!”

Kris nodded, moving to the edge of the roof and beginning to climb down. As they made each step off of the building and helped Frisk down to the ground without any harm, they couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of anxiety and excitement. They were in an  _ alternate universe _ , and here they were in a large city of monsters. Kris wondered who exactly they’d recognize as they took Frisk’s hand and began walking through the quiet streets of the Ruins of Home. 

 

~<O>~

 

Frisk stared around themselves in wonder at the old brick of the city that Kris had somehow opened a pathway for the two of them to explore. In all of their resets throughout this area, Frisk was never able to explore the Ruins past the balcony; they were always stopped, whether it was Toriel’s coddling or the height of the drop. On the other hand, they’d never had a reset with another human at their side. 

They glanced up at the knight, who was walking ahead with their shield at the ready. Frisk had seen a few variations in all of their resets: the occasional phone call, the strange grey-skinned monsters, but they very rarely added much to the overall experience. 

But this? Kris had barely been here a day, and already they were breaking through boundaries like it was nothing. 

It was clear that however Kris ended up here, it wasn’t natural, especially with them being from what seemed to be a completely different alternate universe. 

And Chara was  _ not  _ happy with  _ any  _ of it. 

Frisk hadn’t even realized how  _ close  _ the demon was until Toriel had arrived and begun carrying Kris back to her home. As the child was trailing behind the two of them, they heard that dark and familiar voice echo through their mind. 

_ What are they doing here.  _

Frisk was confused. What was  _ Chara  _ doing here? 

_ Your soul is  _ mine,  _ Frisk. That’s what we agreed upon.  _

Frisk frowned. They supposed that made sense, but that made them worry for the others. After all, as they had continued killing more and more, they could remember feeling something taking over, compelling them, making them almost  _ eager  _ to keep hurting others. That must have been Chara’s influence, right? 

They couldn’t let that demon ruin their happy ending for them, the one that Frisk was determined to reach again. 

_ Kris is not supposed to be here. How did they get here.  _

I don’t know, Frisk thought helplessly. What did Chara mean? Did they already know Kris?

Chara didn’t respond after that, apparently not wanting to answer that question. However, Frisk could still  _ feel  _ them, in small twitches and momentary shudders through their spine. Chara was trying to move them,  _ without  _ Frisk’s input. 

What was their plan? What did they want to do? What weren’t they telling Frisk?

They weren’t sure, and they didn’t want to find out. It was the most scared Frisk had felt in a long time.  

When Kris was explaining their strange situation, Frisk was worried that the knight would pry more as to why Frisk accepted their theory of alternate universes so quickly. And, strangely enough, a part of them  _ wanted  _ the knight to do exactly that. It seemed that Kris had decided to make it their job to keep Frisk safe, and for that they were grateful, at least at first. Now, as the two of them walked through this strange, unfamiliar part of the Ruins, Frisk was shocked to realize that they actually felt much safer around Kris. They  _ wanted  _ the knight to know all of these things, how scared Frisk was, how everything was now changing and unfamiliar, even the horrible things they’d done. 

They wanted Kris to know all of it. Because Frisk  _ trusted  _ them. 

It was a little ironic, especially considering how much Frisk didn’t deserve  _ Kris’ _ trust.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO MANY OF THE SAME GODDAM PRONOUN ASDFIHAPSDFKNASDF
> 
> please point out any and all typos/problems/criticisms, I thrive on that shit


	4. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk wants to get to the surface, and Kris agrees to help them. Toriel doesn't, as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a little rushed, I want to get to the skelebros as soon as I can since I'm pretty excited for their encounter! I was this close to cutting the chapter in half again, but decided against it, and as such this chapter ended up taking a longer time than expected.

Frisk wasn’t kidding when they said that the Ruins were filled with frogs and flies. The city was eerily empty, as the two of them quickly found out walking through the musty and unused streets. The silence was unnerving, leaving Kris’ senses on a hair trigger, ready to raise their shield at any movement. 

They had heard a strange squelching noise arising from one of the alleyways, and immediately began preparing for a battle. Frisk looked a little confused to see Kris so tense, and the two of them looked closer into the alleyway and saw a strange, jello-like creature at the end, its body rising and falling almost as if it was breathing. Kris frowned, staring at it for a moment, wondering if it was dangerous and if so, how they could pacify it. They knew the only way out of an encounter nonviolently here was through acting, since Ralsei wasn’t around with his pacify spell. 

As Kris’ mind was racing, coming up with strategies of approaching it, they saw Frisk move out of the corner of their eye, and suddenly the child was in front of the strange monster. 

Kris’ eyes widened. “C-careful, Frisk!” the knight stepped forward to grab onto the younger human and pull them away, preparing for some sort of attack. 

However, Kris stopped in their tracks as they saw Frisk crouch down in front of the monster, moving their body up and down in a similar fashion to the jello. The monster seemed to bob a little faster, sinking a little in on itself, before it suddenly popped back up, white stars emerging from its body and flying towards Frisk. Kris saw the child flinch back a little from the attack, but from their angle Kris wasn’t sure if any of the white pellets had actually hit the child. Frisk stayed determined in...whatever they were doing, bobbing with the monster until it finally settled down, almost sinking into itself and onto the alley floor. Kris wasn’t sure, but it seemed almost as if the strange noises emanating from it sounded like  _ snoring.  _

Frisk looked back with a smile, meeting Kris’ shocked stare, and walking back to the knight with a slight bounce in their step. Kris lowered their shield at the sight of the happy child, a faint frown on their face as they saw the cut on Frisk’s knee. “Are you alright?”

Frisk quirked an eyebrow in confusion, before looking down at their leg, realization dawning across their face. They looked back up at Kris and shrugged with an “eh.” Kris’ lips pressed into a thin line. 

“You’ve encountered these before, haven’t you?”

Frisk nodded, their smile still wide. “Toriel said they’re called Moldsmals.”

“They seem a little dangerous.”

“Only if I’m not careful.”

Kris crouched down, looking at the cut on Frisk’s leg more closely. It wasn’t particularly deep, but the blood slowly seeping from it still had yet to clot, and the sight made Kris worry. “How about we head back and get you a band-aid for this?”

“What?” Frisk furrowed their eyebrows. “But I want to keep exploring!”

“Well, we don’t want you making your leg worse or getting some sort of infection from it.”

“Toriel will heal it if I get sick,” Frisk reasoned, frowning. Suddenly, they raised their eyebrows, and Kris swore they could see a light bulb appear above the child’s head as they looked back up at the knight with a wide grin. “If you’re so worried about me hurting myself, why not carry me?”

Kris quirked an eyebrow, staring at the child’s coy smile with narrowed eyes, and Frisk gave a small pout underneath the gaze. After a few moments, Kris gave an over exaggerated sigh, crouching down and facing their back to Frisk. They heard the child squeal before suddenly jumping onto Kris’ back, and the knight struggled to get a proper grip while at the same time recovering from the impact. They felt Frisk holding tightly onto their clothing, climbing up their back until they finally latched their arms together underneath Kris’ chin, pulling back. 

“Frisk,” Kris wheezed, slowly standing back up. “Neck.” 

“Oh! Sorry…” Frisk murmured a little sheepishly, loosening their grip a little and clinging more to Kris’ shoulders. The two humans were still for a moment, settling into a proper grip, and Kris began to walk. 

“The moment I get tired, I’m dropping you,” Kris said calmly, looking back at the shocked expression on Frisk’s face. 

However, it quickly warped into its own little evil smile. “I’ll tell Toriel.”

“Don’t you dare!” Kris laughed, and Frisk joined in with their own giggles. 

While Kris likely wouldn’t be handling the child so harshly once they got tired, they knew that the little piggyback ride was going to have to end at some point. Somewhat unfortunately, Kris was strong from their experience in the Dark World, and as such carrying the tiny child took next to no effort. Even when they got into a few scuffles with some other monsters and Kris had to dodge the attacks for the both of them, their speed was barely hampered by Frisk’s weight, and the child enjoyed the battles almost as if the experience was like a roller coaster, bouncing along to Kris’ dodges.  

Strangely enough though, with nearly every monster they ran into, Frisk knew  _ exactly  _ what to do. At first they’d tried squirming around in Kris’ grip in an attempt to try and placate the monster on their own, but soon they found enjoyment in telling Kris what to do and spinning around while Kris dodged the monster’s pitiful attacks. They especially liked having the two of them run into Moldsmals, as it meant that Kris had to do a strange squatting dance, a sight that always made Frisk laugh and Kris flush. 

“Okay, now flirt with the Froggit!” Frisk pointed a finger over Kris’ shoulder. 

“Um, alright,” Kris glanced over at the monster hopping in front of them. It was a little shorter than Frisk, and as such the knight towered over the creature. They thought back to what a creature from the Dark World would like, clearing their throat. “Uh, I like how you have literally no teeth.”

Kris felt a small hand lightly smack the back of their head. “No! That’s not good flirting!” Frisk pouted. 

“Hmph, well  _ I _ beg to differ. Look how hard it’s blushing, that’s a bullseye,” Kris nodded in the direction of the pale frog as they spared the monster, and the Froggit began hopping away. 

“Not true! The Froggit just didn’t understand what you were actually saying. All it got was the intention.”

“Geez, what are you, a survival book? You know all the ins and outs of these so well I almost feel jealous. How many of these monsters did you encounter while I was unconscious, Frisk?”

The child frowned. “Well, Toriel was in a rush to get you home and healed, so I had a lot of time on my own, I guess. I explored as far as I could.”

“Was Toriel okay with that?” Kris raised an eyebrow at the explanation. It didn’t seem like their mother to let a child wander on their own. 

“She probably wouldn’t be if she knew,” Frisk shrugged, a tentative smile on their face. “She  _ was  _ very worried about you at the time, though.”

Kris hummed. “I actually need to thank her for healing me, now that you mention it, once we get back home. I can’t believe I forgot to do that…” They muttered the last part under their breath, a frown wrinkling their face.  

“Don’t worry about it,” Frisk piped up, bobbing their legs. “Now come on! I wanna keep exploring!”

“Alright,” Kris obeyed, walking along the streets with a casual stride. “But I’m starting to think that we’ve seen all the Ruins have to offer. Do you really think there’s anything besides more frogs and flies hiding in these buildings? It’s clear that the place has been mostly abandoned.” Kris found a long staircase and began climbing up it, step by step. 

“You really think so?” Frisk’s head bobbed up and down with Kris’ stride. 

“I know so. I’ve seen plenty more monsters back in my own universe, and considering the way the houses are undamaged and empty, it’s clear people just moved out.”

“Well...that means that there’s an exit to these Ruins, right?”

“I suppose so,” Kris mused, reaching a landing and taking a quick break to look back around. They’d risen above most of the houses, and looking up at what they were used to calling the sky. 

It was pitch black, an inky void that was completely devoid of stars or moon. 

There was nothing there, nothing but a sudden and painful reminder of the situation that Toriel, Asgore, Asriel, and all the other monsters Kris knew were stuck in. 

Kris couldn’t stop staring at it. 

“Kris? Are you okay?” Frisk tilted their head. 

Kris nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, it’s just, do you think you could hop off of my back for a second? I want to sit a little.”

“Uh, sure!” Frisk responded, immediately loosening their grip on Kris’ shoulders and sliding down their back. 

Sighing at the small weight being removed, Kris sat down on the landing, their feet resting on the top step as they continued to survey the city below them. 

“Kris?” Frisk moved forward and sat beside the knight. “You look sad.”

“It-it’s just, I can’t stop thinking about all my friends and family, I guess,” Kris admitted, surprised at themself but not stopping. “Where the rest of them are, how they’re all trapped down here. I wonder if they’re okay.”

Frisk frowned, placing their hands in their lap and staring down at their knees. Kris was satisfied to ponder in the silence, letting their blue mood gently wash through them.

“I...I guess I miss my family, too,” Frisk suddenly spoke up, and Kris glanced over at the child with wide eyes. They weren’t looking back at Kris, but they continued talking. “Back on the surface, you know?

“I can’t stop thinking about them either. Do you...do you think there might be an exit from the Underground, somewhere here? Maybe past these Ruins?”

Kris leaned back on their palms, tilting their head and sighing. “I can’t be sure, but if I had to guess I’d say probably not. There’s a reason why some of these monsters haven’t left in all this time, I doubt that an exit would be easy to find, if there even is one.”

Frisk’s face fell, and Kris couldn’t help but wince at their lack of tact. Still, they didn’t want to lie to the kid and get their hopes up, even if the alternative wasn’t that great either. 

“B-but still!” Frisk insisted, shifting their knees underneath themself and turning towards Kris. “Maybe your friends are one of those people that moved out of these Ruins! Don’t you think we should look for them?”

Kris raised a hand to slow the child down and calm them. “Hold on there, Frisk. I’m worried about them, sure, but considering how  _ every  _ monster reacts to the sight of humans--including that crazy flower--I don’t think it’s safe to just waltz into unfamiliar territory.”

Frisk frowned. “But we can learn! Surely it can’t be worse, right? Do you remember your friends being very powerful or dangerous or something?”

“Hm, not really,”  _ Except for maybe Susie.  _

“Then I’m sure we’ll be fine. I’m great at flattery, and you’ve got a shield, nothing will stop us!” The child grinned, and Kris chuckled at the way they bounced. 

“Still, it’s a bit reckless, isn’t it?”

Frisk’s lips tightened into a thin line, and they slumped back on the ground in thought, their arms crossed, as it became clear to them that they weren’t getting through to the knight. Feeling a little guilty, Kris placed a hand on the child’s shoulder. “How about this: once we get back home, we’ll ask Toriel about it, alright? There’s no harm in asking, and I’m sure Toriel won’t mind answering.”

Frisk looked back at them, their eyebrows far up their forehead. “Do you really think it’ll go that well?”

Kris nodded. “Don’t worry. I know my own mother, and even if she’s a little bit overprotective, she won’t have an issue with a simple question. I can guarantee you that it’ll be alright.”

 

~<O>~

 

Frisk couldn’t help but feel guilty, to see Kris’ trust and confidence in their mother, only to know that it’d be unfortunately let down. Seeing Kris’ shocked expression at Toriel’s behavior, it really made Frisk want to let the knight know what was going on, just so surprises like this wouldn't happen for them.  

“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come, they leave, they die. You two are naive...if you leave the Ruins, they— _ Asgore _ —will kill you. Do you understand? Go to your room.”

Kris stared ahead at their mother’s back with wide eyes as the boss monster stared up at the enormous door, the only exit to the Ruins. If they had glanced down at Frisk, they would have noticed that the child didn’t seem at all surprised, just worried for what was to come. 

Frisk could feel Chara’s will quivering within their Soul, mumbling to themself, and Frisk hoped that they wouldn’t interfere with the coming battle. They glanced up at the knight, seeing the sword strapped at their side, and remembered the way Kris had attacked Flowey almost immediately. Would they try the same with Toriel?

No one could die. Frisk needed their happy ending again, especially after how awful it felt to hurt everyone in their previous run; if Kris decided to attack Toriel they would have to figure out a way to stop them. 

And they couldn’t rely on resetting in case something went wrong, either.

Frisk distinctly remembered Flowey speaking about how he was unable to reset once the child fell down, their determination overpowering his. 

Kris could see the save points. That fact terrified Frisk a lot more than they expected. Could Kris overpower them in terms of determination? As the world flickered away with Toriel turning back to the two of them, the knight’s soul was a clear and bright red, showing that it was possible. 

However, Frisk had never heard of someone who could see the save points, yet not touch them. Did that mean the knight’s determination didn’t overpower Frisk, but was rather very close?

So many questions, so many uncertainties, it all scared Frisk. 

Yet it also thrilled the child, to see so many new paths ahead of them with this new change. It had been awhile since the Underground could surprise them. The last time they remembered it doing so was the moment Sans’ eye had turned a bright, hostile blue and deadly attacks had surrounded them in an instant. Nonetheless, the surprises Kris was bringing were both less deadly and more interesting, for which Frisk was grateful.

The could feel Chara begrudgingly agree in their chest. 

“Watch out!”

Kris grabbed onto Frisk’s arm and abruptly pulled them aside to dodge some of Toriel’s incoming fire magic. Frisk glanced up at the knight, letting out a small sigh of relief as they saw that they only had their shield out to protect the two of them from the attacks. 

Kris crouched behind the shield, keeping Frisk behind them as Toriel’s attacks weaved around them, and soon enough the turn was over. 

Frisk looked up at Kris with furrowed eyebrows as they saw the knight grimace. “Are...are you going to fight back?”

Kris stared back at the child with wide eyes. “What? No! I only fight with those who leave me no choice. If there’s a way out nonviolently, I’ll follow it.”

The knight gave a comforting smile. “I told you, I know my own mother, she’s not beyond reasoning. I’m not entirely sure of everything that’s happened in this new universe, but I  _ know  _ that there’s another way out of this. We just have to figure out a way to talk her down!”

The child gave another huff of relief at the knight’s answer, who had begun trying to speak with her over their shield. Of course, Frisk knew it wouldn’t work, not exactly. 

As expected, the boss monster gave no outward sign that she was listening, conjuring up another ring of flames. 

“We can’t hurt her,” Frisk tried to tell Kris, but the roaring of the flames headed towards them drowned their voice out. Acting quickly, Frisk quickly jumped away from Kris, seeing the knight stumble a little to do the same, a chain of fire rushing between the two humans and splitting them. It was clear that Kris hadn’t mastered their dodging skills like Frisk from the way they moved, but their movements were also of no amateur. 

Frisk made a mental note to ask Kris about it once this was all over. 

The wall of flames that had risen between the two humans dissipated, revealing an extremely worried looking Kris on the other side. 

“Kid?! You alright?”

Frisk nodded, giving a thumbs up and moving back up to Kris. The knight gave a sigh of relief. “You’re faster on your feet than you look.”

Frisk gave an unexpectedly wide smile at the praise, before looking back at the boss monster. Her eyes were wavering a little at the sight of the two children taking care and showing concern for each other, but she still she maintained her stoic expression and continued her attacks. Frisk knew how this would go, how it would take a while to get through to her. 

“Fight me or leave!” She demanded. 

Frisk saw Kris’ expression harden out of the corner of their eye, and Frisk quietly wondered what they were thinking. It was a strange expression that Frisk hadn’t often seen on Kris’ face, one filled with confusion, determination, and sadness. Frisk felt their chest flare up in panic as they saw the knight begin stepping forward, unsheathing their sword. 

“Kris, no! Wait!” Frisk reached out an arm to stop them, but soon had to flinch back as they were met with another wave of heat. The recoil made Frisk stumble back and fall down, and they didn’t bother to pick themselves up, frozen in fear at the sight before them, the knight’s armor reflecting Toriel’s bright flames as they got closer with the blade swinging in their hand. 

Toriel stared down at Kris. “So, have you decided to fight?”

Frisk couldn’t see Kris’ expression, but they saw their head tilt up to look back at the boss monster.  _ No, no, please don’t attack her! _

“...No, mom,” Frisk saw Toriel’s eyes widen a little as Kris lifted their sword, and drove it into the ground in front of them. “I’m not going to hurt you.  And I know you don’t want to hurt us, too.

“I’m-I’m not leaving, though,” Kris stepped back from the sword and back towards Frisk, lifting their shield. “I know you just want to take care of me, protect me from everything even remotely harmful. You want to hold my hand wherever I go, you just care that much. And it’s why I’m staying here, up against you, until I’ve proven myself to you.”

Frisk stared up at Kris’ approaching back with shock. None of what the knight was saying made any sense, as Kris had been unconscious in their trip throughout the Ruins.  _ What is Kris talking about? When did Toriel hold their hand?  _

“Hey, kid,” Kris’ whisper snapped Frisk out of their thoughts. They looked up to see a gentle smile on the other human’s face. “You’ve got some moves. Think you can show me a few? I kind of suck at dodging, and mom’s surprisingly good at fighting.”

Frisk couldn’t help it. They gave a wide, almost face-splitting grin as they pushed themselves back up. “Definitely.”

The fight wasn’t too difficult after that, with the sight of the two humans working together Toriel gave in sooner than usual, seeing that the both of them were strong, especially when working together. 

Later, after the battle had died down and Toriel gave the two children a hug, Frisk swore they heard Kris breathe unevenly, almost as if they were holding back tears. They coughed loudly after seeing Toriel stand up and walk out of sight, and Frisk looked back at Kris, whose hair had been slightly singed from some of their stumbles in the battle. The child smiled, reaching over and hugging the knight's legs. 

They felt Kris freeze up at the contact, before awkwardly patting Frisk on the top of the head, making the child chuckle a little. 

“Thank you, Kris,” they murmured, meaning every word. “I didn’t think Toriel would do all that, that must have been hard for you.”

“No no, thank  _ you _ ,” Kris quickly responded. Frisk looked up to see Kris staring at the large symbol on the door, their stare miles away. “I needed this, actually.”

 

~<O>~

 

Kris was nervous, they wouldn’t lie. The way Toriel had spoken, about what had happened to the previous humans that came, how the monsters—even Asgore—had killed them all. 

The thought of it made Kris both anxious and sick, even though logically they knew they shouldn’t be surprised. 

After all, in order to win the war against the humans back in Kris’ world, they had to have had some impressive fighting power, right?

Still, that thought of all those friendly people back home being dangerous fighters was both a strange and unnerving thought. Considering what Toriel had gone through and what it turned her into, what could have happened to Kris’ friends? Would they even recognize them?

However, despite all of these concerns floating around in their head, what was really carrying them underneath was a feeling of exhilaration and even hope. 

Because despite all that had happened to Toriel in this world, she was still the same, loving person, albeit more deadly with her fire magic. In the way she spoke to the both of them Kris could see the mother they had at home, who took care of the tiny monsters and always wanted to hold Kris’ hand like they were one. 

To see her admit that they were strong, and that she was willing to let them go, was a strangely uplifting and almost hopeful feeling. 

Kris knew that how much their mother coddled them hadn’t gone unnoticed by the other monsters, Susie was a testament to that. And despite how much Kris loved their mother, they’d be lying if they said it didn’t bother them. 

Perhaps seeing their mother--even after going through everything that she had--willing to let them go on their own gave Kris some hope that maybe they could reach a similar resolution back at home, albeit with less fire magic. 

Kris was met with nothing but darkness as they slowly opened the two giant, stone doors of the ruins. Frisk helped a little with the pushing, and when the door opening was wide enough they saw a bright light shining in the middle of the floor, and standing there in the middle of the spotlight, was a familiar grinning flower. 

Kris soon stepped ahead of Frisk, their hand already on the handle of the sword, but not ready to pull it out yet as they saw Flowey give an amused smile at the movement. 

“Golly you’re always ready to fight, aren’t you? I’ll admit, I was impressed back when we first fought. It almost seemed as if you understood the way this world works,” Kris raised an eyebrow at that.  _ What way? _

Flowey’s smile faded. “But then you had to  _ ruin  _ it, didn’t you? You had the chance in front of you to fight back at that old cow, but then you decided to get all sentimental on her! She doesn’t matter, you know! In this world, it’s kill or be killed, and you won’t be able to call everyone you meet ‘mom’ in order to tug at their heartstrings!”

Kris growled. “I only fight when I need to.”

Flowey’s face twisted into a toothy skull. “I know. It’s to protect that little brat, right? Well, news flash; kids are just as crummy and cruel as everything else in this world! Heck, while you’re so busy holding up that dumb shield that kid will probably be sharpening their knife to stab you right in the back!”

Kris furrowed their eyebrows, glancing back at Frisk to see the child clinging tightly to their leg, their face screwed up in what Kris was assumed in fear and their knuckles white from gripping at Kris’ pants. 

Flowey snickered at the child’s reaction. “I’ll be there to watch when it happens. Maybe then you’ll learn.”

And with that, the flower sank back into the ground, gone without a trace just like before. 

After a few seconds of silence, Kris relaxed their guard, giving out a silent sigh in relief that they didn’t have to fight that stupid flower. They’d been utterly beaten before, and even though they’d improved their dodging skills, it still likely wouldn’t be enough to compete with the power that plant had.

Kris frowned. For a creature clearly so malicious and cruel, why would he decide to spare the two of them? Perhaps it was a situation of playing with his prey, they wouldn’t put it past a personality like that. 

Still, that brought in another problem. Where was this Flowey in their world? Was it just a monster Kris didn’t know, one that ended up in another town? They could say the same for many of the monsters they encountered back in the Ruins. Chewing on the inside of their cheek, Kris pulled out their small notebook and began writing down a few notes about Flowey. 

“Um...Kris?” The knight looked down to see Frisk still holding onto their leg. “What are you writing?”

“It’s just I don’t recognize Flowey from my world, so I’m writing him down as a difference right now.”

“Oh…” The child was quiet for a moment. “Um, could we move on now? I don’t like this place.”

Kris nodded, putting the book back in their pocket. “Of course. This place unnerves me a little too, I can’t help but imagine getting jumped by that flower again.”

With that, the two of them began moving through the dark, empty room, the stirring and clanking of Kris’ armor echoing through and overpowering the sound of the Frisk’s light footsteps. The child had reached up and grabbed onto Kris’ hand as they begun walking, and the knight gladly took it—anything to calm the kid’s nerves. Just before they passed through the door on the other side of the room, Kris heard something like a whimpering, and looked down to see Frisk’s gaze squarely on the floor. 

“Is something wrong?” Kris was almost afraid of asking, still unsure in their ability to speak with children, especially in comforting them. 

“You...don’t believe what Flowey said, right?” Frisk looked up at Kris with their eyes open, their large brown irises filled with concern. 

Kris felt relief as they realized they could answer this question, a comforting smile emerging on their face. “Of course not. If I ever decide to believe something as crazy and homicidal as that flower, you can slap me out of my senses.”

Frisk’s scared expression broke into small giggles. “Really?”

“Really really,” Kris continued, the memory of making similar promises to Asriel when the two were young rising in their mind. “If I decide to believe whatever Flowey’s saying, it’s clear I’ve gone crazy and need a good slap on the head. I give you permission to hit me if that time comes.”

“I’ll...I’ll hold you up to it,” Frisk put a hand over their mouth, still laughing. 

Kris waited for the child’s energy to die down for a moment, before getting down on one knee so that they’d be at Frisk’s eye level. “Look, I don’t understand everything here, and  _ especially _ not that flower, but it’s clear he’s just trying to get into our heads. Sometimes people just like to do that, lie in order to hurt others, okay?”

Frisk furrowed their eyebrows, before giving a small nod. 

“It’s important to know that not everyone is nice or honest, and that you need to make a judgement call as to whether they’re either. Understand?” 

Another nod. 

Satisfied, Kris stood back up, holding their hand out again, and ignoring that pang of guilt as they saw the child wholeheartedly take it with a much more relaxed expression, a tiny smile planted on their face. 

Kris couldn’t help but feel guilty, seeing that level of trust and happiness on the child when the knight now felt like they had been lying through their teeth. Because as the two of them opened the doors to exit the Ruins and felt cold wind begin biting their cheeks, Kris couldn’t get the image Flowey described out of their mind, of Frisk stabbing them in the back as the knight worked to protect them. 

And they knew they were just being paranoid and making irrational conclusions, but alongside that gruesome and implausible image were Frisk’s words earlier that day, repeated ad nauseam in Kris’ mind until they could barely hear the snowy winds on the other side of the door. 

_ No knives.  _

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: this story takes place immediately after a genocide route, so Flowey has had his memory completely erased as well. The stuff he's saying here is based on his own experience as a child-turned-soulless monster, and only by coincidence is this accurate. 
> 
> I feel like Toriel is even more coddling in Deltarune, since she doesn't have any previous dead children in that alternate universe, yet she holds Kris' hand so much in the intro of the game, even though Kris is older than Frisk. Was just an interesting detail I felt got lost in all the stuff to unpack from Deltarune that I wanted to bring up in this story. 
> 
> Anyway, onward to Snowdin, and boy is it gonna be a doozy!


	5. Snowy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two humans make their way through the forest, Kris is Stressed™, Frisk is going with the flow, and everyone with skin is cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy did this chapter take longer than expected! I was worried about just resummarizing stuff we've already seen in the game, so I mostly kept this chapter to interactions between the two humans (with some skelebros on the side!). I'm okay with how it turned out, but I'm really looking forward more to what's up ahead!

Kris was already feeling uncomfortable, walking further and further away from the door to the Ruins. 

How in the world had Toriel’s home managed to stay so warm, with so much snow just past the door? Kris was already beginning to shiver as they felt the metal in their armor rapidly cooling. They were really tempted to just pull the whole thing off before they got frostbite. 

But they didn’t let themselves give in to that temptation, because in the silence of the snow around them, they could hear someone following them. 

They needed to get ready for a battle. 

A small snap of a branch made Frisk jump a little, grabbing onto Kris’ hand, and the knight onto tightly. They looked over their shoulder to see the branch they’d stepped over before—now broken, but nothing that could have been responsible for it. 

Kris frowned, able to feel Frisk trembling a little in their palm. They looked down at the child. “Do you hear it too?”

Frisk nodded, and Kris gave one more glance behind before slowly continuing forward. “Keep your eyes peeled.”

It was strange. Kris had a weight pressing into their back, an unnerving sense that something was  _ wrong,  _ that something was watching them, yet they couldn’t hear a single footstep to indicate something was following them. 

That is, until they reached the bridge with the strangely wide bars on it. 

The knight whirled around at the sound of crunching snow behind them, seeing the shadowy figure approach. However, as the dark shape got closer, Kris felt their posture shift from defensive to confused as they realized who it was. 

“Human…” Sans’ grinning skull was surprisingly creepy without the pupils, and Kris hadn’t realized the skeleton could give off such an ominous voice. “Don’t you know how to greet a new pal?”

Kris stared down at the skeleton, their eyes narrowed. The way he was speaking was unnervingly similar to Flowey, and they didn’t realize how tense that parallel made them until they flinched as Sans stuck out his hand. 

“Shake my hand.”

Kris frowned, not intending to do anything that Sans asked (who knew what he was like in this universe? A highly skilled murderer?), when suddenly they felt something move around their side as Frisk reached around to grasp the skeleton monster’s hand. Before Kris could react or panic or anything, a long, drawn out fart noise echoed in the quiet, snowy forest around them. 

There was a beat of silence.

Kris wasn’t sure how they should react, and simply stood frozen in the snow. 

“Heh, the whoopie cushion in the hand trick. It’s  _ always  _ funny.” Sans chuckled, and Frisk giggled too. Kris wasn’t laughing.

Sans glanced over at the knight. “Guess you’re not a fan of my comedy?”

Kris blinked in surprise at the sudden attention, and hurriedly shook their head, to which Sans shrugged. 

“Eh, everyone’s a critic. Anyways, I’m Sans. Sans the skeleton.”

“Nice to meet you Sans,” Frisk waved. 

“Same to you, kid. You’re a human, right? That’s hilarious. You know, I’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now.”

Kris raised an eyebrow, gripping their shield a little tighter. 

“Relax there, pal,” Sans raised a hand in mild defense, his posture as casual and unconcerned as before. “I don’t really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he’s a human-hunting  _ fanatic. _ ”

That sentence set off a few alarms in Kris’ mind, Toriel’s words coming to them. 

_ They come. They leave. They die.  _

“Hey, actually, I think that’s him over there,” Sans’ voice cut in, making Kris jump. Frisk gave them an odd look.  

“I have an idea. Go through this gate thingy,” Sans pointed behind the two humans, and they turned around in surprise. “Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone. Might want to watch your head, though.”

Frisk gave a wide grin, and quickly pushed past Kris to run ahead. They seemed strangely excited about something, but Kris chalked that up to just childish wonder. They hung back a little behind the child, their posture still guarded, and Sans walked up to their side. 

“Hey pal, you can relax a bit there, you know,” he nudged Kris with his elbow. “My bro’s harmless, unless you’re deathly afraid of puzzles or somethin’.”

Kris didn’t audibly respond to the skeleton, simply hugging themself. 

Their armor was growing colder. 

Sans walked ahead to Frisk, who was already checking out the small little station in the clearing, placing a hand on the child’s shoulder that made Kris twitch. 

“Quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp,” Sans pointed. 

Frisk quickly obeyed, practically vanishing with how well they fit behind it, and Sans glanced back at Kris, who gave a shrug. The both of them could tell that the knight was too tall. 

Soon enough, a new skeleton rushed down the path, draped in strangely round armor and bright red clothing. Sans waved. 

“Sup, bro?”

“YOU KNOW WHAT ‘SUP’, BROTHER!” The skeleton that Kris assumed was Papyrus screamed at an unexpected volume, making Kris step back a little. 

_ So  _ he’s  _ Sans’ brother,  _ Kris thought to themself as Papyrus yelled at the other skeleton about puzzles or something.  _ Now that I think about it, Sans mentioned having a brother back in my universe, but I never got to see him. Now I’m surprised I didn’t hear him, too,  _ They thought as Papyrus continued to yell at his brother. 

The thought of Sans and Papyrus back in their universe brought up an interesting point, though. Now that they thought back to it, when that demon had possessed them that day, it had decided to go around and speak with everyone in town. It was mostly fine (for the relative standards of being possessed by a demon, at least), but what they said to Sans was the most interesting. 

It said something along the lines of “It’s nice to see you again.”

Kris frowned. Did that mean the demon had met Sans before in their universe, either with Kris’ body or even possessing Sans themselves?

Kris looked over at the skeleton next to them, talking to his brother.  _ Maybe the demon has met a Sans from an alternate dimension, like this one?  _

_ Is the demon not even from  _ my  _ dimension then? _

Kris quickly pulled out their small book and began writing down all these different thoughts rushing through their mind. 

“AND WHO IS THIS PERSON STANDING BESIDE YOU, BROTHER?” Papyrus suddenly called out. 

Kris glanced up from their notebook to see both of the skeleton brothers looking at them. 

“Oh, that’s just a human bro,” Sans shrugged nonchalantly. 

“R-REALLY?” Papyrus jumped, his eye sockets somehow glimmering in awe. “WOWIE! A REAL HUMAN!”

Kris raised an eyebrow as the skeleton began bouncing in place, exclaiming a list of things he wanted and was going to get, before quickly regaining his composure. 

“AHEM,” Papyrus’ back straightened. “HUMAN! I SEE YOU WILL BE A WORTHY ADVERSARY, WITH YOUR STYLISH ARMOR! COME AND FACE THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH!”

With that final declaration, Papyrus stomped off and out of sight, leaving Kris to wonder why. They turned back at Sans with a quizzical look, and the shorter skeleton just shrugged. “Like I said. My bro’s harmless.”

Frisk emerged from behind the lamp, a small smile on their face, and Kris hoped that Sans was right. 

Still, they wouldn’t remove their armor, despite how cold it already was. 

 

~<O>~

 

The snowy forest the two of them found themselves in appeared to be mostly harmless, what with the kind talking snowmen and weird smoking dogs. The main problem was the cold, and the small glove they’d found on the way did nothing to help; it had been too small for Kris anyway, so they had given it to Frisk. 

Unfortunately, it seemed that it hadn’t been enough. 

Kris saw the child shift out the corner of their eye, and they looked down to see them hugging themself. The knight frowned. “Are you alright there, Frisk?”

The child looked back up at them with a shaky smile. “I-I’m alright, j-just a lit-little cold-d.” They stammered through chattering teeth.

“Well, that’s a problem. We can’t have you getting sick, now can we?” Kris removed the shawl tied around their neck, draping it over the smaller child. Frisk found their upper body completely covered with the fabric, one of its ends draped over their head, and they huddled deeper into the shaw. The sight was adorable, and Kris couldn’t help but grin. “Is that better?”

Frisk nodded. “What about you, though? You seem cold too, with all that metal.”

Kris waved off Frisk’s concern. “I’m tough, plus it’s not as bad as it looks. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Frisk’s face scrunched up at the response. “Hm. That’s not good enough. How about we switch every now and then?”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I’m not accepting the shawl unless you agree.”

Kris huffed a little, a smile on their face. “Alright.”

As sweet as the offer was, the conversation between the two had made their situation unfortunately clear: they were both going to need to find some shelter soon, or else the area was going to leave the both of them as popsicles. 

 

~<O>~

 

So far, Sans’ promise about his brother was correct, now that they had faced his first puzzle. Kris wasn’t sure if they were allowed to call it that, though. 

At first the knight had been worried when he first explained the rules of the invisible maze, their concern not helped with the way Frisk immediately moved in to complete the puzzle, but the entire situation de-escalated remarkably quickly after it was revealed that Papyrus needed to hand them the orb first. 

After that, it was just a quick and easy path of following Papyrus’ footsteps in the snow. Kris had insisted on holding the orb for Frisk and walking ahead anyways, just in case there was a misstep. There ended up being a couple, all on Kris’ end, although the knight suspected that Frisk had pushed them from behind on purpose. They didn’t get a clear confession from the child, but their mischievous giggles behind cupped hands were enough of an answer.

Sans had stayed behind afterwards, hanging by a blue rabbit serving ice cream. Frisk went over to talk to him, and Kris tapped on Sans’ shoulder. 

“Where do all of you live?”

“Oh, just Snowdin. You saw the signs, right? It’s not too far ahead.” He waved his thumb off in a random and unhelpful direction. “Why do you ask?” 

“It’s getting chilly for both of us. We’re hoping to take a break soon.”

“Hmm,” Sans glanced over at Frisk, two ice creams in their hands and completely wrapped in the shawl. “Alright. I’ll let Papyrus know. Maybe he’ll ease up on those puzzles, too.”

Kris nodded. “Thanks.”

They turned back to the approaching child, who hopped up to hand them one of the ice creams now in their hands. Kris unwrapped it to find a nice message inside, before crumpling up the paper and putting it in their pocket. The two of them sat down on the edge of the nearby ice rink, eating the “Nice” creams, or whatever Frisk was calling them. The snacks certainly weren’t helping with the cold, but they definitely repaired all the small injuries that had been building up until that point with all the miscellaneous monster fights. 

It was a nice break from everything. 

“So,” Kris took another bite. “What do you think of Sans and Papyrus?”

“They’re funny.” Frisk had already finished their ice cream, and was now just chewing on the wooden stick. “I like puns.”

“Can’t say the same, unfortunately,” Kris shrugged. 

“Maybe you’d get along better with Papyrus then? He doesn’t like them either.”

“I guess. It’s funny, the two of them kind of remind me of a friend I have back in my own universe.”

“Really? Who?” Frisk perked up. 

Kris pulled out their notebook, and began sketching out a picture, with Frisk pressing up against their side to see the drawing. “This is Lancer. He’s a friend I met in the Dark World, remember? He kind of acts like Papyrus, wanting to catch us for approval and all. He looks a lot more like Sans, though.”

“That’s weird. Do you think we’ll meet him down here too?”

Kris frowned. “Honestly, I can’t be sure. The Dark World so far seems to be something unique to my universe. Why would the people in that alternate world show up in the Underground, if the only difference is who won the war?”

“I guess there’s only one way to find out. Are you all done with your nice cream?” The child asked, standing up. Despite the healing factors of the food, they still looked very tired. Their stance had a bit of a sway, each word seemed to be a bit out of breath, and their forehead was even a little sweaty. 

Kris nodded, standing up as well, but not before a bundle of fabric was shoved in their face. 

“It’s your turn to wear the shawl again,” Frisk smiled. 

Kris raised an eyebrow, before silently accepting it and tying it around their neck again. “Alright then, let’s keep moving.”

 

~<O>~

 

Kris was beginning to get a little tired of the large amounts of puzzles and dogs. They were trying their best to keep track of it all, and the suit of armor wasn’t helping as the thing seemed to be almost burning through their skin every time they moved. It wasn’t until after their battle with Greater Dog amongst all the snow poffs did they give in. “Is anyone else around?” They looked at the other human.

Frisk frowned from inside the shawl, and slowly shook their head. 

_ Perfect.  _ Kris quickly moved to hide behind one of the large snow poffs, stripping off all the armor they had on as fast as possible. Luckily there was some skin tight black fabric underneath, and although it wasn’t nearly thick enough to keep out the cold, Kris sighed in relief at removing all the freezing pieces of metal that had been attached to them. 

“Kris?” The knight glanced up to see Frisk peeking over the snow poff, their eyebrows furrowed. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just that armor had gotten a bit unbearable. I decided to finally take it off.”   

“Has it really been bothering you all this time? Do you need the shawl again?” Frisk was already starting to pull it off. 

Kris shook their head, giving the most reassuring smile they could. “No, that’s alright. Just removing the armor is enough for me. You should keep that on, you don’t look like you’re doing so well either.” 

Frisk wrinkled their nose at the response, opening their mouth to say something before being interrupted by a small sneeze. The tiny noise both made Kris laugh and prove their point. They scooped up the pieces of their armor, holding them by the straps to avoid having to touch that awful armor anymore, and stood back up. “I think I can see Snowdin just a little far off. Come on, let’s keep going. We just have to cross this, uh…”

Kris looked down at the long, flimsy wooden bridge before them, and chewed on the inside of their cheek. “Let’s just get this over with, I guess.”

The thing didn’t creak as much as expected when Kris put their boot down on the bridge, but they still decided to be careful with their steps, Frisk keeping close behind them.

Unfortunately, that whole “being careful” plan went down the cliff once they were halfway across and realized that the skeleton brothers were waiting for them on the other side. Papyrus soon began calling for how this would be their greatest challenge yet, but Kris didn’t hear much as they were silently cursing for giving in and removing their armor just before this encounter. 

Those silent curses only grew in volume in Kris’ head as dozens of dangerous weapons (and a dog) moved into view. How in the world were they going to get out of this one?

“ARE YOU READY?” Papyrus yelled. Panicking, Kris frantically shook their head before they realized it. The skeleton paused at the response.

“OH.” Papyrus seemed to be caught off guard. Sweat began to gather on the side of his skull as a few seconds passed by. “UM…ARE YOU READY NOW?”

“U-uh...Not really!” Kris called back, suddenly regaining their voice. 

“HMMM…WHERE HAS YOUR LOVELY ARMOR GONE, HUMAN? IT WAS SO SHINY! DO YOU NEED TIME TO CHANGE BACK INTO IT?”

“It was, um, a bit too cold,” Kris was holding on tightly to Frisk’s hand. “We’ve been pretty cold for a while, actually.”

“REALLY?” Papyrus leaned over, scratching his chin. “I DIDN’T REALIZE HAVING SKIN MEANT YOU COULD FEEL THE SNOW.”

Kris saw Papyrus lean down to his brother, and the two murmured something that Kris couldn’t catch. Soon enough though, the taller skeleton straightened back up and cleared his throat (Kris still wasn’t entirely sure why he did that, he didn’t even have a throat).

“WE WILL TAKE DOWN THIS GAUNTLET FOR NOW, AND YOU CAN SOMETHING WARM IN SNOWDIN. MY BROTHER TELLS ME IT’S CALLED A...JACKET. YOU MAY EVEN DROP BY MY HOME, IF YOU’D LIKE A HOT PLATE OF SPAGHETTI FROM MASTERCHEF PAPYRUS!” The skeleton cackled as all the deadly weapons (and dog--seriously, why was it there?) shifted back out of sight. “ONCE YOU’RE NOT COLD AGAIN, WE CAN COME BACK TO THIS BRIDGE AND TRY THIS AGAIN!”

Kris blinked. “Um…thanks?”

“THINK NOTHING OF IT! JUST THE CLASSIC GENEROSITY OF I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” With a finger pointed triumphantly at the sky, Papyrus ran off and out of sight, giving off his signature laugh once more. 

Sans stood where he was for a moment, before giving the two stunned humans a wink. “Told ya he’s harmless,” he grinned, turning around and walking off after his brother. 

The two of them watched as he vanished from sight as well, and Kris looked back down at Frisk. “Um...I guess we lucked out there, huh?”

The child smiled back, but the expression was clearly strained. 

“I know, I’m tired too. Let’s see if there’s an inn at this town.”

Despite being eager to find themself in a warm building, Kris didn’t want to be too reckless, and as such stayed cautious crossing the rest of the bridge, Frisk practically clinging to the back of Kris’ legs. It wasn’t until their feet settled on the solid, soft snow, did Kris give a small sigh of relief and their posture straightened. 

“I’d say we’ve had enough action for one day, don’t you think?”

“Mm...”

“Alright Frisk, are you excited to explore?”

There was no audible response. 

“Frisk?” Kris barely had a moment to wonder if something was wrong as they suddenly heard something hit the snow behind them. 

The knight whirled around, their heart jumping at the sight of the smaller human lying face down in the snow, barely breathing and not responding to Kris’ panicked shouts. 

“ _ Frisk! _ ”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy!


	6. Snowdin Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk is sick, and Kris is trying their best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I wrote this chapter in comic sans because I found this writing hack that said writing in comic sans will help you write more. So I tried it, and now this chapter is a little over 4k words? try it yourself im curious if this was just a coincidence

Frisk was surrounded by warmth, that much they knew as they slipped back into consciousness. They didn’t know where they were, or how to find out: Their eyes were squeezed tight and their heartbeat thundered in their ears, but their sense of touch was still there. They could feel the warm, fluffy blankets wrapped around their body, but none of it seemed to stop them from shivering, even when grabbing onto the covers tightly and curling into an even tighter ball. 

The sounds came back again with a vengeance. They could hear the voices filling up their ears, echoing and making Frisk’s throbbing headache even worse, along with the ache in their chest: the trembling fear in Monster Kid’s voice, the fury in Undyne’s, Papyrus’ stammering but hopeful pleas, Sans’ casual yet discouraged monologues, and of course Flowey, begging for his life. 

Frisk had desensitized themself back in their previous run, pushing themself to see what was next, what would happen when they pushed this world to the brink. It was exactly how Sans had described it in all those other timelines, how the more one hurt the farther they got from the horrors of what they were doing. But now, surrounded by all of their friends and family without memory of all that pain, the voices of that previous dust-filled life were practically unbearable. 

That wasn’t the worst of it, though. They had heard almost all of these voices before, and had someway to prepare themselves for them, no matter how little that did in the end. Hearing Kris above all of the others-cracking small jokes and quietly comforting the child from what scared them, without even realizing that it was themself they were so terrified of-was worse than Frisk could have imagined, making the guilt in their chest constrict even more tightly. 

Why had this other human come into this Underground, without rhyme or reason, and suddenly start trying their best to make everything better, even putting themselves on the line to protect a murderer like Frisk?

It wasn’t fair. 

It made them think of Papyrus, with his arms open and shaking, ready to put all his undeserved trust on the human. 

Frisk slowly blinked their eyes open, groaning at the headache beating through their skull. They felt something damp and warm resting on their forehead, and gently reached up to and pulled it off to see a rolled up towel, the water in it leaving a small streak on the child’s forehead. They lowered their hand and turned in their position in the bed, trying to get a better look at their surroundings. 

The room they were in was dark, but even still the human could see the orange hues in every aspect of it: the walls, the furniture, the bed, everything. 

The bed they were in was extremely large, easily able to fit two more people onto either size, three if they were Frisk’s size. The human furrowed their eyebrows at the unfamiliarity of it all. It certainly wasn’t the hotel at MTT—it was far too humble--but Frisk couldn’t remember another time they were in a bed so large. 

Frisk had explored every corner they could possibly reach in the Underground through countless timelines, and yet this location slipped their memory. Was this another new place past the boundaries that Kris had somehow managed to reach?

The child looked over to their right: Kris’ shawl was hanging off the corner of the bed, and on the bedside table was a plate with a burger from Grillby’s--already cold--and a glass of water. Frisk’s stomach growled in gratitude, but that didn’t stop them from frowning at the sight. Where were they? What was going on?

 

~<O>~

 

“That’ll be twenty-five gold.”

Kris obliged, nodding as they dropped the coins on the counter and reached over to grab the cinnamon bunny. 

They made sure to keep their head down. Ever since arriving in this town, the knight had made sure to limit their interactions in this town to mostly small, courteous gestures, with varying degrees of success.

As they extended their hand, a furry paw reached out and gently placed itself on Kris’ hand, making the knight jump look up at the shopkeeper. 

Her pupils were large, filled with concern and something else. “How’s your friend doing?”

The knight flinched a little at the question. Despite not talking much, Frisk’s health was something practically every monster in the town was aware of, considering Kris had run through the town on the first day with the child unconscious and on their back. 

_ It’s all my fault, too.  _

Kris looked back down at the counter again, giving a half-hearted pull to move their hand out from underneath the bunny’s paw. “Same as ever.”

“Do humans usually get sick for this long?”

“Not this badly, no.” The knight was having difficulty mustering up the strength to pull their eyes away from their feet. 

The shopkeeper’s mouth pressed into a thin line, and she lifted her paw from Kris’ hand to hold up a finger. “Just one moment.”

She bent down behind the counter, only the arch of her back visible as she rustled through something, tufts of fur sticking out from underneath the clothing. Kris stood there for a few seconds as they waited, awkwardly fidgeting in the snow and pulling at the edges of their coat. As it had turned out, the money that Kris had collected in the Dark World had stayed with them in this form, and looked the same as the money this town used. With their sudden stash of wealth, the first thing they had gotten a large amount of clothing: one layer for underneath their armor, and another on top. Admittedly, the amount of layers got a little stuffy when they were inside the buildings, but it kept them nice and warm on their walks through Snowdin and its town. 

_ Now Frisk won’t feel obligated to give me my shawl anymore,  _

“There we are!” Kris jumped as the shopkeeper sprang back into view, something brown resting in her paws. “Sorry about that, I had stashed it away to prevent myself from accidentally selling it to someone else. Take a look!”

She put the brown lump onto the counter, and Kris realized that it was actually a cinnamon bunny--It didn’t look the same as the others that Kris usually bought, though. It had strange blue and green sugar sprinkled on top of it, and the bread was a shade paler. The knight looked back up at the shopkeeper with a raised eyebrow. 

“I decided to cook this up for your friend!” The rabbit monster grinned. “My food helps better with more physical injuries, so I decided to try making a recipe to help more with this sickness that kid’s got!”

Kris widened their eyes, reaching over and grabbing the cinnamon bunny to inspect it more closely. “How much?” they murmured. 

“This one’ll be free, but if it really helps I can sell some more to you. Just warning you though, I had to look up human illnesses from the library to try and make the recipe for this, so it might not work at all.”

Kris looked back up at the shopkeeper, holding both of the cinnamon bunnies closer to their chest, and gave a genuine smile to her for what felt like the first time in years. “That’s alright. Thank you, ma’am.”

The rabbit monster waved it off. “Think nothing of it. Tell your friend I hope they get better.”

Kris gave a curt nod, before waving and almost running out the door of the shop.

The cool air of Snowdin brushed across Kris’ cheeks, and gave a brief wave for the monsters setting up the Christmas tree in the center. They walked over to the entrance on the other side of the building labeled “Snowed Inn,” a small bell chiming their arrival. 

“Welcome back, Kris!” the other bunny at the front counter greeted. 

Kris wondered yet again she was related to the shopkeeper, but didn’t mustur up the courage to ask. They merely gave a small nod as they passed by and up the stairs. 

It had taken some struggling to open the door with the pastries in their hands, but they eventually managed, making sure to close the door as gently as possible so as not to disturb the child resting inside. 

Kris had asked for a bedroom that could fit two when they first arrived, and had ended up being placed in a room that could fit a lot more than that. The knight looked across the dark bedroom at the prone lump underneath the covers, Frisk’s already small size being completely dwarfed by the width of the bed they were sleeping in. 

It was a familiar sight: It was almost their first week since arriving in Snowdin Town, and the child was rarely seen conscious.  

Kris sighed, glancing over at the bedside table. They felt themselves uplifted a little at the sight of the empty glass, and more so at the nearly empty plate, save for a few chunks of bread. This was the first time Frisk had eaten the whole thing. 

Kris had never actually  _ seen _ the child eat. Anytime Frisk was awake while Kris was around they were exhausted and almost completely unresponsive. As such, the knight tried to spend a lot of their time at the library, and even with the locals if they really needed to talk to someone, just to push back the stress they got watching over the kid. 

Frisk was barely getting better though despite the rest, warmth, and care, and Kris hated how helpless they felt. Monsters didn’t have the same physiology as humans, and as such none of their healing foods seemed to even remotely help. The most they could do now was provide the kid with some food, water, and cold towels to help break their fever. 

Speaking of which, Kris noticed caught sight of the towel that had previously been on Frisk’s forehead, now hanging off of the edge of the bedside table. They grabbed it and moved to the other room to rinse it off and cool it again, as well as refill the glass of water. 

Luckily, the child was laying on their back--they were usually curled up and on their side--so it was easy to place it back on Frisk’s forehead. Their brows furrowed at the contact and they mumbled something, but that was their only reaction. 

Kris sighed, pulling the layers off of their armor and sitting down, keeping their feet planted on the carpet floor. They looked back down at the two cinnamon bunnies in their hands, and carefully tore off a piece of the altered one, tasting it for themself. It wasn’t bad: The flavor was a bit less sweet than usual, but otherwise it seemed fine. They placed it on the emptied plate and began to eat the regular one. 

There was a flash of movement in the corner of Kris’ eye, and they glanced back at the child, just as still as ever. However, when the knight looked closer, they could see that the human was shivering underneath the covers, sweat dripping down the sides of their head. 

They reached out a hand to pull back strands of hair from Frisk’s face, remembering what their mother used to do for them. “I’m sorry you’re going through all this, Frisk.” they mumbled, looking away, unsure of what else they could do to comfort the child. 

A curt knock made Kris’ head snap upwards, and they quickly shuffled off the bed and across the room to open the door. Standing there, with her paws folded in front of her, was the bunny from the front desk. Kris raised their eyebrows at her in surprise.”...Hello?” 

“I’m sorry to intrude, but there’s someone up front asking for you.”

Kris frowned. “Is it…?”

The bunny only nodded, her gaze to the side. 

Their shoulders sagging, Kris moved past the monster and down the hallway. As they stepped down the stairs, more of the lobby came into view, as well as a familiar yellow monster standing in the center of it. 

“Yo, you’re actually here!”

Kris gave a small wave to Monster Kid, although they didn’t put any effort in the movement. 

“This is great! C’mon, I’ve gotta show you something!” The monster was practically bouncing with excitement. 

Kris tilted their head, tired. “Show me what?” 

“Dude, it’s a surprise!” Monster Kid nudged his head towards the door. “Just for a few seconds, come on!”

Kris chewed on the inside of their cheek, watching the monster take slow steps towards the door. They sighed, and slowly began walking after him. They hoped that this really was just a short trip, and that the layers they had on would be enough for the cold. 

_ I swear though, if this kid starts speaking about the ‘Royal Guard’ again… _

Kris was barely able to finish that thought, because as soon as they opened the door and Monster Kid hopped out into the snow, he whirled around to face the knight. “While we’re walking, maybe you can update me on your mission now? I see you’re showing your armor off again!”

Kris pushed back a groan. “I’ve told you already, I’m not on a ‘secret mission.’ I just have this armor.”

“Right, right, ‘course, dude,” Monster Kid gave them an exaggerated wink, and Kris sighed a little. 

The monster had become convinced that Kris was some secret member of the Royal Guard the moment he saw their bright armor. He said it looked a lot like the armor of someone named ‘Undying’ or something, and proceeded to ask questions that Kris could not give the answers to. The knight didn’t even know what the Royal Guard even  _ was _ , or why Monster Kid cared so much. 

“Here we go!” Kris bumped into Monster Kid’s back as he stopped, looking up to see the Christmas tree in front of them. 

Monster Kid bent down to nudge one of the gifts underneath the tree with his nose. “This one’s for you!”

The knight paused, not saying anything for a few seconds with slowly widening eyes. “You...what?”

“Yeah, dude!” Monster Kid bounced again. “You’ve been here for so long, and we realized there wasn’t anything underneath the tree for you, so we decided to put something together!”

Kris frowned. “Don’t you think I should wait? You know, for when everyone else is opening their present?” They hadn’t heard much about the actual tradition, but that seemed about right.

Monster Kid chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Yeah, but then I thought, you’d really like this, you know? No one’ll mind if you open it early anyway.”

Kris looked down at the slightly lopsided wrapping paper, and decided to push back at the warmth in their chest from the gesture. They looked back up at Monster Kid. “Th-thank you, I really appreciate this, but-”

“HUMAN!”

The knight flinched at the loud but familiar voice and whirled around to see Papyrus standing twenty feet away, his hands on his hip bone and his cape flapping dramatically behind him. “IT HAS BEEN SIX DAYS, TWO HOURS, AND TWENTY-THREE MINUTES SINCE YOU LAST PUT A PAUSE UPON THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ GAUNTLET PUZZLE! TELL ME HUMAN, ARE YOU PREPARED TO  _ UN _ PAUSE?!”

Kris shook their head quickly, before clearing their throat. “Um...no.” 

Papyrus stepped towards the human and bent down to closely inspect them with narrowed eye sockets. “HMM...WHERE IS YOUR SMALL CLONE, HUMAN?”

Kris leaned back from Papyrus’ close proximity, swallowing. It wasn’t as if they could tell Papyrus the state Frisk was in! Even if he was clearly harmless, the knight didn’t want him running off and telling others in his “Royal Guard” that there were two humans stuck living in Snowdin Town, easy for the picking. 

“OH? HUMAN, YOUR NERVOUS SWALLOWING, THE SWEAT ON YOUR FOREHEAD, YOUR LACK OF A RESPONSE OR EVEN EYE CONTACT, I SEE WHAT’S GOING ON HERE!” Kris’ eyes widened as Papyrus stood back up. “YOU’VE LOST YOUR SMALL CLONE IN A GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK!”

The knight did a double take, blinking over and over. 

“FEAR NOT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE LOST MY BROTHER MANY TIMES IN THE NOTORIOUS GAME OF SEEKING AND HIDING, AND AM NOW A MASTER AT IT! DON’T WORRY FASHIONABLE HUMAN, I’LL FIND YOUR CLONE FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY ‘SPAGHETTI’! NYEH HEH HEH!”

Kris still wasn’t moving as Papyrus galloped off through the snow and out of sight, frozen on the spot. They were still for another few seconds before they finally realized what had happened and their body finally relaxed, letting out an exasperated sigh. With that skeleton, they were never completely sure where a conversation would go. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but they couldn’t help but feel a twinge of homesickness at the way Papyrus reminded them of Lancer. 

Kris took another big breath, and turned back around to Monster Kid. “Sorry about that interruption. Look, I appreciate the gesture, and while a part of me wants to open it now, I’ll wait like everyone else, alright?”

Monster Kid frowned a little at the response. “Um...alright, then. Make sure you’re here then when it’s time to open them all!”

Kris nodded, giving a slight wave, and began walking back to the Inn. They let out a sigh of relief as soon as they turned around, glad that the young monster hadn’t wrangled them into yet another long conversation about the Royal Guard and what Kris knew about it. They were far too tired for something like that, and they looked forward to just passing out at the Inn as they pushed the door open. 

“HUMAN!!” Papyrus’ loud voice made Kris jump back and land in the snow. They looked up at the skeleton staring at them through the doorway of the Inn in shock. “WHY IS YOUR CLONE NOT MOVING? WHY IS IT SO WARM? WHY DOES IT HAVE A TOWEL ON ITS FACE? IS IT LEAKING?!”

Kris narrowed their eyes, their lips pressed into a thin line, before finally giving up and getting back onto their feet to face the skeleton. “They’re sick, Papyrus.” They sighed. 

“...SICK?” Papyrus squinted at the knight, before his sockets widened in fear. “THEY’VE FALLEN DOWN?!”

“What?! No, no!” Kris waved their hands. They’d read up a little and heard what ‘falling down’ meant to monsters, and Papyrus was already on the verge of tears at the thought. “No, Frisk-Frisk isn’t dying. They just...they don’t feel well, and need lots of rest and care. That’s all Papyrus, you don’t need to stress so much.”

The panic on Papyrus’ face faded. “THEY’RE...ALRIGHT?”

“Ehhh, not exactly. Like I said, they need to be cared for right now.”

“OF COURSE! THEN I, MASTER CARETAKER PAPYRUS, SHALL HELP YOU IN THIS ENDEAVOR! COME, HUMAN! I SHALL CARE FOR YOUR SMALL CLONE WITH GRACE AND SKILL, ONE MUST BE IN THE BEST OF HEALTH FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ GAUNTLET PUZZLE!”

“Wait!” Kris reached out a hand to grab onto the monster and stop him, but Papyrus was already springing up the stairs and in a second he was out of sight. 

As they ran to follow him, they could distinctly hear the skeleton loudly opening and closing doors. 

_ Is he just going to check every room until he finds the right one?!  _ Kris thought, exasperated. 

“AHA!” Papyrus was at the end of the hall, holding a door open triumphantly and looking in with a proud expression. He quickly bolted inside, and just as soon afterwards came back out the door, a small shape wrapped in blankets being cradled in his arms. 

“DO NOT FEAR, HUMAN!” Papyrus whisper-shouted, and Kris noticed that Frisk was asleep, their cheek resting on his armor. “I AM SIMPLY RELOCATING YOUR CLONE TO MY HOUSE! THERE THEY WILL GET ALL THE REST AND SPAGHETTI THEY NEED TO GET BETTER!”

Kris furrowed their eyebrows at the sight. Having such a tall skeleton monster so gently holding up the young human, who seemed more than comfortable to be in his grip, made the knight slouch in tired defeat. “Alright. I’ll get Frisk’s food.”

“NYEH HEH HEH!” Kris felt a rush of wind blow through their hair as Papyrus ran past them and down the stairs. They looked back to see the innkeeper peeking out from around a corner, giving a warm smile to them. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring your things. You just worry about taking care of your friend, alright?”

Kris’ eyes widened at the offer, before they gave a grateful smile and a nod. “We’ll return your blankets soon, don’t worry!” They called back as they jogged past her and out the door in the hopes of catching up with Papyrus. 

As it turned out, finding the skeleton’s house was far easier than expected. Not only was there a set of distinct, freshly made prints leading east of the Inn, but as Kris kept moving they saw a familiar monster in a blue jacket waiting for them in front of the two-story house the prints lead to. 

“Heya. My brother came storming by with your friend in his arms. They uh, didn’t look too hot.” He raised an eyebrow. 

“The cold just got to them. What are you doing out here?”

“Just catching some skele-sun, is all,” Sans winked. “I was also betting you’re not too thrilled about Papyrus dragging you both here?”

Kris grunted. “I guess not. I know you mentioned he’s harmless, but even still he’s pretty...intense.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was guessing. So how ‘bout this. I don’t get out of the house much, so I can keep watch after your friend while they recover, alright?”

“What makes you think I’m not worried about you too?”

“Just a hunch,” Sans shrugged. “Plus, you can check me if you want. I’m just as harmless as Pap.”

“Hm, maybe I will.” Kris nodded along, but then stopped, frowning. “Wait, what do you mean check-”

The knight looked back up, but the skeleton was already gone. Furrowing their eyebrows, Kris stepped inside the door of the house that was behind him. After all, where else could he have gone to vanish so quickly?

Kris was immediately greeted by several sounds as soon as they opened the door. They could hear water overboiling and sizzling on the stove, the rattling of bones, and the humming of a bouncy tune. They looked over to see Papyrus in a chef’s hat and apron, his back to them as he cooked. He turned his head as Kris shut the door. 

“THERE YOU ARE, HUMAN! I’M JUST PREPARING A FRESH BATCH OF SPAGHETTI FOR YOUR CLONE!”

“Um...thanks?” Kris tapped the front carpet with their toes, jostling the snow off of their boots. “Where are they, anyway?”

“IN MY ROOM, OF COURSE!” Papyrus pointed up the stairs. “THEY’RE ON MY SUPER COOL RACE CAR BED! THEY DIDN’T RESPOND TO ME PUTTING THEM DOWN, BUT I COULD TELL THEY LOVED IT!”

“Um, alright. Well, if Frisk ever ends up responsive while I’m not around, could you tell me?”

Kris began moving up the stairs after seeing a thumbs up and getting a loud “nyeh” of affirmation from the skeleton. 

Opening the door to Papyrus’ room, they couldn’t say they were surprised at the decorations. They looked over to see Frisk still wrapped in a cocoon of blankets, and couldn’t help smiling a little at the sight. Still, the image was bittersweet as they got closer and saw the sweat glistening off the child’s brow. 

_ I’ll need to get another towel for them,  _ Kris thought absentmindedly as they sat on the edge of the bed. They gently placed a hand on Frisk’s shoulder, feeling something twist in their gut as they realized the child was shivering. 

“Don’t worry, kid.” Kris wasn’t sure if Frisk was even conscious enough to listen, and as such the comforting words were more for the knight than anyone else. “We’re gonna take care of you, you’re going to get better, and we’ll be back on our way out of the Underground. I promise.”

They shifted their hand down to Frisk’s palm, squeezing in a futile attempt to stop the trembling. 

With that vow now still floating in the air, Kris stood back up and left the room to get a cold towel.  

 

~<O>~

 

Frisk was still shivering. Even when they felt more and more blankets being wrapped around them, they were freezing to their core. Their teeth chattered, they hugged themself as tightly as possible, and it did nothing; they were so cold. 

Kris’ screams had joined the others by now. They knew it wasn’t real, the only time they’d ever heard the knight yell was in a faint memory of them screaming Frisk’s name. None of it was real--even the monsters’ screams weren’t real, not anymore, not after Frisk had completely reset everything. 

These were just memories that the human wished they would forget, mirages that they knew were only being dredged up to make them more scared. 

They knew Chara was just trying to weaken them, after all. 

Frisk could feel the black tar wrapping around their soul, and they clenched the blanket surrounding them even tighter. The room was getting colder. 

The human wrinkled their nose and furrowed their brow, more sweat building on their forehead, and pushed back at the spreading darkness with all of their might. 

Chara’s control retracted, slowed down a bit, and Frisk’s temperature grew a little warmer. 

They weren’t sure why the fallen human was doing this. All Frisk knew was they felt a light bulb go off in the spirit’s head back in Snowdin forest, and suddenly Frisk’s movements grew shakier and harder to control, like someone was pulling at their wrist. They fought against it, going through the motions in Snowdin like an automaton, secretly hoping and dreading that Sans would notice something wrong with them.

The resistance was short sighted. Now they were like this, prone for so long, and it seemed like no one was bound to notice in time. 

Frisk wasn’t an idiot. They knew they were fighting a losing battle. They just didn’t know when the inevitable was to come. 

They felt the tar moving again already, and Frisk whimpered, curling in on themself even more. The voices and noise of their past sins had finally dulled down, and now there was only the dark, whispering voice they had agreed to keep in exchange for the world they’d destroyed themselves. 

_ You need to stop resisting, Frisk. There’s no point.  _

_ You and I both know you don’t have a choice in this anymore.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chara's chaos hour ft. Frisk and Kris (yes glitter I stole your comment lmao)


	7. Enemy Approaching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has an enlightening conversation and Kris learns a little bit more about their family.

Sans wouldn’t say he was that good or competent at anything, especially anything involving kids.

 _Fortunately_ , he thought as he glanced over at the child on Papyrus’ race car bed, _there’s not work in taking care of this one._

That lazier side of him, the side that was constantly tired--of working, of life, of everything--was a little relieved that there wasn’t much for him to do (give the kid some water, medicine and food when they wake up, etc.), but funnily enough, that same side also hated it more than anything else.

Sitting for hours on end on a chair he’d pulled up to the side of the bed, being forced to watch over the kid as they shivered and sweat, it all made him face a sensation of helplessness that he thought he’d grown comfortable with. That same helplessness that told him how little impact any of his actions had.

Perhaps it was because the kid was involved? Maybe a human? After all, if this illness got any worse, there could be a chance of another reset.

 _But since when has that mattered to you?_ Sans sighed through his teeth, leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up onto the edge of the bed. He could already feel his body getting a little heavier with the mental exhaustion.

_It wouldn’t hurt...just to take...another nap..._

Something cold and sharp stabbed into Sans’ arm, making him jump and nearly kick his slippers off his feet. All exhaustion shocked out, he whirled his head around, only to feel confusion replace his fear at the sight of the kid’s hand holding tightly onto their sleeve.

 _Geez, the kid’s fingers are so_ cold.

He looked up to the kid’s face, shock coursing through him as he saw the wide, brown eyes staring back at his sockets.

As he looked closer at their eyes, the number of lights reflecting back at him, he realized that they were on the verge of crying.

“Woah, kid, are you uh…” Sans rubbed at his skull, placing a skeletal palm over the kid’s hand as he leaned forward. “Are you okay? What d’ya need? Are you in pain?”

“Sans…” The kid’s voice was broken and weak, and Sans realized he had an entire laundry list of things to do once the kid woke up. He mentally berated himself for forgetting so easily.

“Hol-hold on kid, you’re probably thirsty, lemme just get you…” Sans reached over to the bedside table, grabbing onto the glass of water and tilting the straw towards the human. “Look, have some of this-”

“No,” The kid’s grip on Sans’ sleeve tightened. “It’s...your brother…”

“W-what?” Sans raised an eyebrow, lowering the glass. Did they want to see Papyrus or something?

“I’m going to kill him.”

Sans froze. The glass of water in his hand slumped a little, the edge of the water dripping onto the carpet. Suddenly, the kid’s hand felt a lot colder than it already was.

He’d told himself thousands of times that he didn’t care, not anymore. He knew that the human’s choices were their own, there was really nothing he could stop about it; he’d seen the alternate timelines, how they always stopped the moment something went wrong for them.

Still, hearing those words out of the mouth of a literal child was surprisingly terrifying.

_This kid has the power to do anything in this world._

_And this time, they want to kill my brother._

Sans chuckled nervously. “What-what are you talking about, kid? Gonna kill him at board games or something?”

“Hide your knives, please…” Sans could feel the kid’s nails digging through the sleeve and into his bone and he repressed a shudder. He glanced back, swearing he saw a glint of red flash in those deep brown eyes.

Something seemed to come over the skeleton. A sense of cold emptiness as the reality of what this kid wanted settled in on him, and he was reminded of just how little he could do of it.

_They’re toying with you._

“Papyrus is going to die…” The kid’s tears seemed to perpetually be on the verge of falling, yet none came down their cheeks. “Fight me...can’t...stop my-”

“Look, look, I get what you’re saying, kid, I get it,” Sans wasn’t surprised at how cold his voice was, standing up and gently pulling the kid’s hand off his sleeve. The kid’s eyes widened, whether it was in fear or something else, he wasn’t sure and didn’t care anymore.

However, it seemed to almost definitely be malice at the sight of the child’s face splitting into an unnervingly wide grin, and tears finally fell down its face. A part of them almost seemed _relieved_ for some reason, but in that smile, Sans saw nothing but a murderer.

That smile was short-lived though, as the kid’s face sunk back into exhaustion and their head fell back onto the pillow, as if nothing had ever happened. Their sweating seemed to have stopped somewhat, though. Perhaps the sickness was just a fake to get the two of them alone?

Sans sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, staring down at the human in front of him.

“Yeah, I get what you’re saying,” He walked over to the door of his brother’s room, slowly prying the thing open.

“You’re saying I can’t stop you, right?”

He didn’t wait to see if the human would wake back up to respond to him before he closed the door. He knew any response would only make that feeling worse. He leaned back on the door, sliding down and hitting the floor. He buried his face into his hands.

_Maybe just killing Papyrus off without any warning wasn’t enough for them._

He closed his eyes, taking a second to breathe a little more slowly before standing back up. He gave a heavy sigh.  

_I need to go to Grillby’s._

 

\---

 

The library had a calming ambience that Kris found themselves missing every time they stepped back out into the town.

They knew they shouldn’t let the peace and quiet keep them there, though; they knew it was just an excuse to avoid Frisk, and how they still weren’t sure of what to do.

Kris paused from their reading to rub at the bridge of their nose, sighing. _Pathetic. Frisk is in pain, they need you, and yet here you are hiding out in the library because you can’t handle the stress. Poor you._

“YES, INDEED, POOR HUMAN!” A voice shouted next to Kris, making them yelp and nearly toss the book across the room. They whirled around to see Papyrus bending down, his grinning skull inches away from their nose.

“Did...did I say that aloud?” Kris stammered, their hand clutched over their still hammering heart.

“NO, I THINK YOU WERE JUST THINKING VERY LOUDLY!” Papyrus stood back up, and Kris looked around the rest of the library, worried that his volume was disturbing everyone else. They didn’t seem to care though, likely used to the skeleton’s eccentricity, and continued reading as normal.

“Um…” Kris readjusted their grip on the book. “What are you doing here?”

“TO PROVIDE YOU COMPANY, SHINY HUMAN! YOU HAVE SEEMED DOWN THESE PAST FEW DAYS, AND NO ONE CAN STAY SAD IN THE PRESENCE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” His cape flowed valiantly behind him.

“Uh...thanks?”

“OF COURSE, NYEH HEH HEH! NOW,” Papyrus abruptly plopped down on the ground next to Kris, his legs crossed. “WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? DOES IT HAVE PICTURES?”

“Yeah, there’s a few, although I don’t think any of them are particularly fun,” Kris reopened the book and pointed to the illustration on the page, depicting two armies facing each other. “It’s about the history of monsters.”

“HMM...INTERESTING! CURIOUS IN WHAT LEAD TO THE CREATION OF SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME?”

“I’m just more curious about the history of the Underground in general, to be honest. There are a few things that keep bothering me, though.”

“WELL, WHY NOT ASK AWAY WITH ME? I’M SURE I CAN HELP YOU WITH MY MASTER INTELLECT!”

“Yeah, maybe,” Kris quirked a smile. “So, here’s the thing: Asgore--the king, right?--these books keep talking about how he was the one to declare war on humans after you guys got locked down here, but that doesn’t, I don’t know... “

Papyrus quirked an eyebrow, and Kris looked back up from their book. “Can you tell me about him? What he’s like, I mean?”

“OF COURSE! WHILE HE IS THE KING AND IS A GIANT GOAT, ASGORE...IS IN FACT A REALLY BIG SOFTIE!” He luckily didn’t notice the way Kris’ shoulders sagged in relief. “EVERYONE IN THE UNDERGROUND LOVES HIM, ALTHOUGH I BET IT’S BECAUSE HE LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE SANTA CLAUS!”

 _He still does that in this universe, too?_ Kris chuckled despite themself. “But what would a big softie be doing in a war?” They knew that Asgore had fought in one before in their universe, and they could never imagine their father willingly entering one again, nevertheless involving everyone else.

“WELL…” Papyrus’ smile turned downwards, and he twiddled his fingers. “A WHILE AGO, KING ASGORE GOT VERY SAD AND VERY ANGRY. SANS NEVER EXPLAINED TO ME WHY, BUT EVERYONE ELSE WAS VERY SAD TOO. THAT’S WHEN ASGORE DECLARED WAR AGAINST HUMANS, WHATEVER THAT MEANS.”

Kris’ eyebrows slowly crawled up their forehead. “Something sad? I wonder what it could be.”

Their mind began to wander to a few possibilities as to what it could be. In all the time they’d known him, Asgore’s softest spot was always the wellbeing of others, especially his family. Especially his wife…

It was only then did they start to wonder again what Toriel was doing so far away from Asgore. Surely it couldn’t be just a divorce, right? No one even seemed to acknowledge her existence in the Ruins, there was no way it was just a divorce.

“Say, Papyrus,” Kris tried to regain the skeleton’s attention, but he seemed to be staring at his own wrist for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed. “Do you think you could tell me about the Queen-”

“OH MY GOD!” Sweat began beading down Papyrus’ dome. “I AM LATE FOR A VERY IMPORTANT AND NON-SPECIFIC MEETING!”

“What? What kind of business do you have-“

He jumped back to his feet. “PLEASE EXCUSE THE GREAT PAPYRUS AS HE MAKES HIS MOST POLITE OF ESCAPES!”

He quickly dashed out the door of the library, and Kris involuntarily chased after him, leaning out of the doorway and staring in  confusion at Papyrus’ rapidly receding figure, sprinting towards the edge of Snowdin, before finally shrugging and turning to head back into the library. It was Papyrus, what were they to do? This was not remotely the weirdest thing he’d done in even that day, let alone that week. Besides, they wanted to get back in the warm, quiet, comfort of the library, and-

A flash of yellow slipped out of their vision as it receded back into the earth.

Kris’ neck snapped to attention at the sight of where that damned flower had just vanished, and slowly closed the door to the library. After a few moments of waiting, they approached the spot where Flowey had gone; there was barely even a sign that he’d been there.

They furrowed their eyebrows. _How long has he been following and watching us?_

Kris looked back up, and saw a hint of green in the snow further down. They walked towards it and bent down, finding a broken off vine with thorns attached and a large leaf.

A bright and clear trail, obviously left behind for Kris to find.

Flowey wanted to lead them somewhere.

Kris, checking once more that they had their shield equipped, felt surprisingly happy to oblige.

The leaves and vines didn’t lead that far away from Snowdin as Kris had expected, only a little away from the long bridge leading to it. The knight stopped short of a small pile of leaves that seemed to be the end of the trail, looking around for anymore signs of the flower.

“You really _are_ an idiot, aren’t you?” The voice drew Kris’ attention back to their feet and the sight of Flowey, already emerged from the snow. “You knew exactly what I was doing, and you fell for it anyway.”

“I suppose I just have some questions I’d like answers for.” Kris kept their voice even.

“I suppose that’s expected. A lot has changed since I last saw you.”

Kris raised an eyebrow. _Does he mistake me for someone else?_

“You know, funny story, I thought that little brat you hang out with was you, if you can believe it. But then I thought, it’s been a while for the both of us, hasn’t it? No wonder you’ve grown. As you can see, I’ve changed a lot as well.”

“Um...yeah, you sure have.” Flowey seemed to be monologuing to himself now, and Kris wasn’t ready to break his momentum.

“It only makes sense that your determination has grown, too. It somehow managed to beat out mine, and now you’re the only one here who can truly reset the files!”

“That’s not me.” Kris blurted out, rather than the billion other questions they had. The both of them blinked in surprise at the knight’s response.

“What?”

“I can’t reset any time. I can only see the save points. Frisk is the one who can see them, although I haven’t seen them use any resets.”

“You,” Flowey stared at them with a rare bit of dumbfounded shock. “You can’t use the files? It’s the _kid_?! But-but how do you know about them?”

Kris shrugged nonchalantly. “I told you, I can see them, just not touch them.”

“That’s strange…” Flowey mumbled, a vine rising to scratch his chin, before it split into a wide, far too innocent smile. “Perhaps your determination is close to what the other brat has? I wonder if it’ll go any higher if you, say, _died_?!”

At the last word—which he spat as his face turned into a skull—a vine shot out from the snow, directed straight for Kris’ chest.

A vine which promptly crashed into their shield, reeling back from the impact with left a noise like that of a small gong. Flowey stared at Kris, holding up their shield with a neutral face, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. It seemed he hadn’t seen Kris pull it out.

“Yaknow, for such a manipulative sociopath, you become easy to predict rather quickly,” Kris flashed a finger gun from around the shield. “Out of all of them, I’m glad you were the first murderous monster I could’ve met.”

“Wh-what the?” The flower reeled back. “Was, was that what you call _flirting_?!”

“What, not to your your tastes?”

“Uh, no? What are you trying to do here?”

“Placate you, mostly, though I suppose you’re playing a ‘hard to get’ thing here?” The hints of a smile were daring to escape on their lips.

“ _What the fuck are you talking about!_ ”

“Right, sorry, my bad, that’s a bad mentality. I’ll try again.”

“No no no, shut up!” Flowey screwed his eyes shut. “Shut up right now! This is gross, we’re _family!”_

Both monster and human froze, staring at each other with wide eyes. Kris opened their mouth to ask the obvious, but the moment they moved, Flowey had vanished back into the earth and abruptly ended their conversation.

Kris waited for a few more moments, sitting in that snow with their shield in front of them. When it was clear Flowey wasn’t coming back, Kris stood up again, frowning.

They turned back to Snowdin town, putting away their shield and pulling out their notebook and pencil. As they walked along the rickety bridge back to town, they wrote down some more notes of easily the most interesting monster they’d met so far in this alternate universe. They wrote down records of the conversation, of Flowey’s behaviors, and below all of the notes and speculations lay a single name, scratched out into oblivion due to the sheer absurdity of it.

_Evil flower, kind of a psychopath_

_Can make a bunch of vines (how big is he really?)_

_Calls himself Flowey? Is it even a he, it just sounds like one._

_Seems to know mom in some way_

_Does he mistake me for someone else?_

_Called me family? Is it accurate or a mistake?_

 

~~_Asriel?_ ~~

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, the next chapter is a bit of a clustertruck of vague ideas and cliffhangers so I have no idea how long it'll be and how long it'll take? LOTS of stuff is gonna happen soon, don't you worry. 
> 
> Fanon usually has Sans as a lot more of an active character, and while I like overprotective Sans that shows his blue eye to basically ANYTHING, in canon he only pulls that out when like. literally everyone else is dead.
> 
> "going to grillbys" is the undertale of getting a drink or smoke you can't convince me otherwise 
> 
> Up next: Kris finds an empty house.


	8. Darkness Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kris comes home to find no one there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait! I'd entered into a writing contest and had to focus all of my writing work there, not to mention this chapter ended up being surprisingly long (at least relatively).

Kris stopped in the middle of Snowdin town, taking a moment to observe the daily commute. 

_ Should I get some more food?  _ They’d had a chance to try out some of Papyrus’ spaghetti, and weren’t entirely sure if was healthy for a human, much less a sick child like Frisk. They vaguely remembered hearing that Papyrus was being taught to cook by someone in the Royal Guard, which mostly raised more questions. 

Kris‘s train of thought was interrupted at the sight of a titling star floating near the shop, and they frowned at the sight. . 

The knight thought back to the conversation with Flowey, at what he said about their determination. They hadn’t thought too deeply of the comment at the time, considering they’d been pulling out their shield, but now it sat with them. 

Kris stepped forward, a hand outstretched.  _ Determination is what causes the resets… _

Pressing their lips into a thin line, Kris mustered up as much determination in their chest as they could, and stretched their hand to touch the star. 

The sight of their hand passing through as always made Kris feel like a balloon being deflated. They sighed, rubbing the bridge of their nose, and turned their back on it. 

_ Why am I even listening to that flower, anyways? It was probably just a rouse to stab me. Maybe I should really get Frisk to slap me.  _

They didn’t feel like going to shop anymore, and the knight head straight to the skeleton brother’s house, ignoring the waves they got as they walked. 

_ We need to be moving on from this town soon,  _ They thought distantly. 

Kris pushed open the door to the large log cabin, unsurprised at the silence that met them. Papyrus likely wouldn’t have run away from Kris just to head home, Sans wasn’t known for being too energetic and noisy, and Frisk, well…

They shook off the thought, walking up the stairs. Perhaps the kid had gotten better since Kris had last seen them, considering Sans was now at their side to help. 

“Sans?” The knight called, keeping their voice low as they twisted the knob to Papyrus’ room. “How is Frisk doing-”

Whatever Kris was thinking stopped the moment they realized the room was entirely empty, of both a skeleton and Frisk. It would’ve been one thing if Sans had been absent, but the covers in the bed had been pulled back, and Frisk was gone too, as if they’d just walked out.

Kris let out a quiet, strangled noise, and whipped their head around the room. They ran to the closet, ripping it open and finding nothing but clothes. They checked the only other door on the second floor, frustrated to find it locked. “Frisk?!” They called, leaning over the railing. They ran back down the stairs, opening the giant cupboard underneath the sink and even the fridge. Nothing. 

The knight ran their hands through their hair. Where had they gone?! Had Frisk run off and Sans was now searching for them? If so, couldn’t he have left a note?

_ He’s taken Frisk, he and Papyrus both, oh god, they’re going to turn Frisk into the Royal Guard, I shouldn’t have trusted them I SHOULDN’T- _

Kris slapped themself in the face to cut off the string of panicked thoughts that were running through their mind unwarranted. They took a deep breath. 

_ We don’t know anything yet. Let’s just ask around first, maybe the other townspeople have seen either of them? _

Nodding at their new plan, Kris strode out of the kitchen and toward the door. As they walked out the doorway to the kitchen, they distantly observed the knife rack on the counter, seeing one of the holes empty. They brushed it off. 

 

\---

 

Sans was resting his chin on his hand, sipping on the end of a ketchup bottle, when he heard the door to Grillby’s slam open. It seemed a little odd, since the dogs usually didn’t arrive at this hour, but he didn’t decide to turn around until he heard the newcomer’s voice. 

“Sans? What are you doing here?”

Masking his surprise, the skeleton turned around, his grin as cheeky as ever. “Heya, Kris.”

The armoured human strode up to Sans, and the skeleton wondered if they were mad. Their stance seemed to exude more authority than fury, but he still couldn’t stop himself from glancing at the sword sheathed to their belt.

“Some monsters told me you were here, and I don’t-” Kris stopped as they looked behind Sans. “Did you...eat all of that?”

Sans glanced over his shoulder, seeing the pile of dishes and baskets that previously held a total of a dozen orders of french fries and burgers, along with a couple empty bottles of ketchup. “Yep. What can I say, I need to get some meat on these bones.”

“Do you usually spend this much money? Where...where did you...” They trailed off. 

The skeleton shrugged. Why was Kris so concerned about this specifically?   

Kris pressed their lips together, and Sans didn’t miss the way they’d clenched their hands into fists.  _ Uh oh.  _ What about his answer had angered them?

“Sans,” Their voice was cold, and they took a step forward. Out of the corner of his eye, Sans saw several other monsters glance over at their conversation. “I’m only going to ask this once.  _ Where. Is. Frisk. _ ”

They grabbed onto the edge of Sans’ jacket, leaning close enough for him to see the furious eyes underneath their bangs. “Actually, I’ll make this easier.  _ Who did you hand them over to. _ ”

Sans blinked, staring at Kris as everything snapped into focus.  _ Frisk isn’t home?  _

_ Oh.  _ They must’ve decided it was time to make good of their promise to him just earlier that day. He felt the ghost of a laugh beginning to form in his gut, and he reassuringly patted the knight’s hand still tightly gripping his jacket. 

“Relax, Kris, I didn’t sell the kid to the Royal Guard, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’ve just got an unusually large tab, courtesy of Grillby.”

Kris narrowed their eyes, staring intensely into Sans’ sockets, before huffing and leaning back, letting go of his jacket. Now  _ everyone  _ was watching the exchange. “Alright, but then why aren’t they at your house? And why are you  _ here,  _ of all places?”

Cold acceptance settled into his gut, and he smiled back at the human, reaching for his ketchup bottle again. “The kid’s probably gone to find Papyrus. Didn’t expect ‘em to be up and walking so soon.”

“What? Is that why he left in such a hurry?”

“Nah,” It seemed Kris wasn’t involved in whatever Frisk was doing. Perhaps they thought they needed to distract Sans? “That’s probably one of his reports. No doubt Frisk’ll find him on his way back.”

“What? Why would they do that?”

“Hey, you don’t need to worry. You’re acting’s good, but you don’t need to keep it up anymore. I already know what you’re both planning.”

Sans glanced back at the human, who was looking at him in utter confusion. He glanced at the other monsters in the building, who were all ignoring them again after it was clear the situation had de-escalated. “You wanna kill Papyrus.”

“ _ What _ ?!”

Kris’ voice was so loud that it actually made Sans jump a little, and every head turned again. “Why would we want to do that?!”

“Keep your voice down, don’t wanna disturb the guests,” Sans waved a hand. “So I guess you’re not in it, huh?”

“ _ In  _ it? What do you mean by  _ that _ ? That  _ Frisk  _ is ‘in it?’”

“Kid told me their plans just a bit ago. Looked me in the sockets and told me they were killing him. Why are you so surprised?”

Kris’ hand was wringing at their hair, pulling their bangs away and allowing Sans to see the utter confusion and fear in their eyes, their gaze focused on the wood floor. The sight was off putting, to say the least. 

“That-that doesn’t make any sense. Did they really say that?”

Sans shrugged. “I know what I heard. They also told me things like ‘hide the knives’ and ‘fight back.’ Seems the kid’s a bit of a sadist.”

Kris froze, and their pupil moved up to stare at the skeleton, making his usual grin falter a little. “What did they say?”

“Hide the knives, fight back, something like that. Telling me I couldn’t stop ‘em.”

A second hand began threading through Kris’ hair as they started to pace. “No. No no no no, that doesn’t make  _ sense,  _ it can’t be…” they mumbled. 

Sans wasn’t entirely sure what the human was going on about at this point, and resigned back to his ketchup bottle. However, before it could even reach his teeth, a hand grabbed onto his sleeve and stopped him. Kris was leaning close again. “I think I know what’s going on, and I need you to help me.”

“What?”

“Frisk asked for your help for a reason.  _ You’re coming with me. _ ”

Sans was about to protest, but the human’s surprising strength pulled him off his seat and dragged him out the door as Kris began running to the outskirts of town. Even with the knight by his side, Sans couldn’t help but feel more afraid as they approached the edge of Snowdin.  _ Kris thinks they were asking for help. From me specifically.  _

There was only one reason Frisk would know the skeleton’s fighting abilities, and Sans wasn’t sure if he wanted Kris to be thinking the same thing or not. On one hand, they could be running into the situation, completely ignorant of what they were facing, but the other meant that they fully understood what was happening, and perhaps  _ met _ it. 

Both options were terrible, but Sans preferred the former. 

 

\---

 

The mist on the edge of Snowdin had returned with a vengeance, and Papyrus wondered if it was travelling in from Waterfall with him. He was great enough for such a grand entrance, after all. 

The thought of Waterfall made sweat start dripping down his skull as he thought back to his reports of Undyne. 

_ “Have you found any humans?” Undyne’s helmet was tucked underneath her arm, her bright red hair frizzy from the humidity.  _

_ Papyrus twiddled his thumbs together, unsure how to answer. Kris had mentioned the younger human being weak, didn’t they? He wasn’t an idiot. He knew that whatever humans faced Undyne or Asgore, bad things happened to them. He was never told the specifics, but the outcome was always the same: Asgore announcing that they were one step closer to breaking the barrier.  _

_ Didn’t the humans at least deserve a chance to fight against that fate? _

_ “Papyrus? Is something wrong?” _

_ He glanced away. “UM...WHAT IF I DIDN’T  _ NOT  _ FIND A HUMAN?” _

_ Undyne’s eye widened, leaning forward on her spear. “What?! Where?” _

_ “IN SNOWDIN TOWN. THEY’RE...THEY’RE A VERY STRONG HUMAN, THEY HAVE ARMOR AND EVERYTHING!” _

_ “There’s just that one?” _

_ “ONLY ONE.” _

_ Undyne narrowed her eye. “Well then. I’ll be getting some extra things to prepare back at home, you keep an eye on them. Can I trust you to do that?” _

_ “OF COURSE! AFTER ALL, I  _ AM  _ THE GREAT-“ _

_ “Promise me one thing though, Papyrus.” _

_ “HM?” The skeleton tilted his head.  _

_ “Don’t fight the human, no matter what. If they’re really as strong as you say, then I’ll need to take care of this myself. Understand?” _

Papyrus rubbed his gloved hands together, the wind blowing between his ribs. His stature was uncharacteristically slouched as he kept his gaze on the ground. 

He’d need to tell the humans about what happened, right? Soon enough Undyne would be storming into town and demand to fight Kris, and he didn’t want to see such conflict between either of his friends. 

Perhaps he’d be able to avoid a conflict once she arrived? Yeah, instead of the two of them fighting in Snowdin, he’d invite them both to his house and feed them his best spaghetti yet! That would surely calm the mood, and then Undyne and Kris could become friends too!

The skeleton’s spine straightened, and he puffed up his chest. It was a brilliant plan! He’d tell the humans all about it once he got home, he was sure they would be happy to avoid a fight-

Papyrus’ thoughts were cut off at the sound of a second pair of footsteps crunching through the snow. He jerked his skull up, seeing a small shadow approaching him. It took him a moment, but eventually he grinned, recognizing the mop of hair as it blew in the wind. 

“HELLO, YOUNG HUMAN! IT’S GREAT TO SEE THAT YOU’RE DOING WELL AGAIN! NO DOUBT YOU WANTED TO SEE THE GREAT PAPYRUS IN YOUR NEW HEALTH?”

The shadow of the young human stopped for a second, and he saw their head bob. His grin widened, and he opened up his arms. “WELL THEN, LET ME PROVIDE YOU WITH A PROPER WELCOME TO SNOWDIN!”

The human stepped even closer, and as the mist started to thin around them, Papyrus spotted the glint of a knife. A bead of sweat slowly started to form on his skull. “A-AH, I SEE YOU HAVE A BIT OF CUTLERY THERE, IS IT FROM MY KITCHEN? THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS THE BEST AT TAKING CARE OF HIS SPAGHETTI-MAKING TOOLS, YOU SHOULD KNOW!”

There was no audible response. The human just stepped closer. More sweat was growing. “DID YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI FROM THE VERY BEST? I UNDERSTAND YOUR EAGERNESS, BUT EVEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEEDS THE REST OF...HIS TOOLS...TO...MAKE…”

Papyrus trailed off as the human even closer, and he resisted every part of his body that told him to take a step back with each moment. 

Frisk was at his feet now, and they turned their head upward to look him in the eye. Underneath their dark brown bangs, the skeleton was finally able to see their wide eyes, and his soul froze at the sight of blood red. 

“FRISK-“

“ _ Don’t you dare! _ ”

Papyrus jumped back at the third voice, Frisk’s head whipping around to face the new set of footsteps approaching. The fog was getting thinner by the second and Papyrus was able to see Kris sprinting up to the pair, an exhausted Sans being dragged behind them. 

“Get _ away  _ from them!” They screamed, making Papyrus raise his gloved hands and step away, his brow furrowing. Why did Kris sound so furious with him? Was Frisk still sick? Was this a normal stage in human fevers and he shouldn’t let himself get infected?

Any questions in the skeleton’s mind froze when the knight unsheathed their sword without a hint of hesitation and pointed it directly at the child. 

“I said,” Kris growled through gritted teeth. “Let them  _ go _ ,  _ demon. _ ”

 

\---

 

Kris was surprised at how steadily they were able to grip their sword, staring at those bright red eyes underneath the child’s bangs. 

_ So stupid,  _ they berated themself. How could they have not realized it sooner? Even as early as the Ruins the kid had been apprehensive with knives, and Kris had decided not to question it. 

_ Did being possessed for all those years really teach you nothing? _

_ Idiot. Of course this universe has its own demon, too.  _

“Sans,” Kris glanced over at the skeleton, who was leaning on his knees and breathing heavily from the physical exertion. He tiredly looked up when addressed, but if Kris looked closely they could almost sense wariness in his gaze. “Can you fight?”

Sans gave a dry laugh. “Is that what you dragged me here for? I’m the easiest enemy in the whole Underground, kid.”  

Kris clenched their jaw in frustration. Why was Sans being so laid-back about this? “Papyrus!” The skeleton jerked his head. “Make sure Frisk doesn’t get away, but  _ do not  _ try and fight them, understand?”

Papyrus furrowed his eyebrows, keeping his hands close to his chest, and his gaze suddenly turning downward as the child in front of him gave out a deep, chilling laugh. 

“ _ What’s your plan, Kris? _ ” The knight stiffened hearing their name spoken by such an inhuman voice. “ _ I’ll give you some advice: stay out of my way. _ ”

Frisk’s body whirled around, their knife swinging at Papyrus. The skeleton jumped back, creating a small wall of bones that the human cut through easily. 

The demon had a moment to look before they felt a shield crash into their body, throwing them back. They glared up at Kris, and the knight aimed their sword down at the child. “ _ Not worried about damaging this body, huh? _ ”

“Get out of Frisk this instant,” Kris’ voice was even, but their grip on the sword was starting to shake. 

The red eyes were smug as the demon chuckled. “ _ That’s impossible, you know. _ ”

The knight swung their sword down and the demon rolled out of the way. “ _ There’s a lot of things you don’t understand about this universe, Kris, _ ” they continued. “ _ Things about Frisk. _ ”

“I don’t care, I’m not listening to you. Papyrus!”

The demon casually glanced at the wall of blue bones erupting from the snow, forming a ring around the two humans. “ _ Really? Perhaps you’d like to know how you ended up in the Underground in the first place? _ ”

Kris grit their teeth, charging forward. 

The demon casually dodged Kris’ attacks, slashing forward with their knife. Kris only barely managed to raise their shield to block it. 

“ _ Do you know of Flowey? _ ”

Kris spared a moment to let their eyes widen. Of _ course  _ someone like Flowey would be friends with the demon. 

“ _ With his relatively pitiful amount of determination, coupled with his experience in resets, he’s almost always able to remember Frisk’s save files, even when their determination overpowers his. Do you know what would happen if you, a human with nearly the same amount of determination as Frisk, went through a reset? _ ”

Kris paused, their brow furrowing. They glanced over to see the skeleton brothers just as confused and baffled by the conversation. “...No.”

The demon gave a dark laugh, raising their blade. Kris prepared for an attack, only to stop when they saw them turn the blade inward. Horror crawled into their skin. 

“ _ Me neither. _ ” The knife swung toward Frisk’s chest. 

“ _ No! _ ” Kris lunged forward, and a loud  _ clang  _ rang out. 

The demon stared at their empty hand, the knife having been knocked away by Kris’ thrown shield. The knight held tightly onto their other wrist, feeling a surprising amount of resistance from such a small body. 

The child kept their gaze downward, and Kris took a deep breath. They were out of options. “I’m sorry about this, Frisk.”

The demon’s eyes widened as Kris plunged their free hand into the child’s chest, passing through the clothes bloodlessly and grasping onto what they knew was Frisk’s soul. The thing started beating rapidly in pain, but Kris kept their calm, reassuring themself that Frisk would be alright. 

After all, they’d done this to themself for years thanks to the demon, they were practically a master with this technique by now. 

They also knew that the experience wasn’t very fun for the recipient if dragged out. Their grip on the soul tightened, and they placed their other hand off Frisk’s shoulder as they pulled. 

They vaguely heard Sans yelling in the outskirts of their senses as they wrenched their hand free from the child’s chest, the small body falling back as their soul was pulled out. 

Kris stumbled back, their grip on the soul tight, and opened their fingers up to observe it. Their breath hitched. 

They could barely see the vague heart shape of Frisk’s soul, as the thing was completely coated in a strange, dripping black tar. They stood back up, walking back towards Frisk’s body as they tried their best to pull the stuff off of Frisk’s soul. 

“What is this?” They murmured to themself.  _ Is it the demon? If so, why didn’t  _ my _ soul ever have this tar whenever I pulled it out? _

The tar slipped through their fingers, dripping onto Kris’ palm, and they felt the spot begin to itch. The bones lowered, and the skeleton brothers quickly jogged up to their side. 

“WHY IS THE HUMAN NOT MOVING?” Papyrus slid up to Frisk’s body, looking them over. Kris looked up to see Sans’ eye sockets staring down at them, black and devoid of any humor or light from before. 

“Kid,” His voice was strange, distorted. “What the hell did you do?”

Kris frowned, looking back down at the black tar still dripping off of the soul and onto their palm. “I...I’m not sure.”

“ARE YOU SURE YOU SHOULD BE GETTING SOME OF THAT STUFF ON YOUR HAND, HUMAN? IT DOESN’T LOOK VERY HEALTHY!”

“Hm, you may have a point there,” Kris dragged their fingers into the snow, wiping the stuff off. 

The tar wasn’t gone when they pulled their hand back out. They furrowed their brow, shaking their hand a little. The black spots didn’t budge. Both of their hands were itching even more. They looked back at the hand holding Frisk’s soul, and felt their heart stop. 

The red of Frisk’s soul was beginning to show as the black tar slid off of its surface and built up on Kris palm. They shook it, panicked, and the black stuff only continued to bubble on their skin that seemed to be growing ever colder. Kris plucked Frisk’s soul, pulling it out of the black tar, holding it close. 

They glanced at Frisk’s body, quickly placing the soul above their chest before abruptly standing up and taking several steps back. The soul slowly began to move back to its vessel, and Kris knew that soon the two would be reunited. They tried once more to pry the black tar from their skin without success. 

“WHAT’S GOING ON?” It was strange hearing so much fear in Papyrus’ voice, and Kris felt their heart break. 

The spots the black tar was touching only continued to itch even more, and before Kris could give a response they felt needles of pain pinching into their skin. They yelped, tearing off their glove and gauntlet and exposing their bare hand to the cold air. 

Their eyes widened as they saw the tar no longer as piled up on their hand as it sank into their skin. A painful, burning sensation akin to frostbite ran through their nerves, and Kris yelled, tightly gripping their arm. The light in at the edges of their vision began to dissolve as they felt something like a cold finger poke at their soul. 

A red cape entered their spotted vision. “...HUMAN? ARE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“ _ Get away! _ ” Both the knight and Sans shouted in unison as a third voice entered into Kris’ skull. 

_ This is almost easier than possessing Frisk. _

Kris could feel their arms flexing beyond their own volition. 

_ That child didn’t want to make a reset, you know. They were scared something bad would happen to you.  _

They could see the child in question laying at Sans’ feet begin to stir as the soul finally sank back into their chest. “...Kris?”

“SANS, SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH THE HUMAN!”

“Get away from them, Papyrus!”

_ If Frisk is going to be so stubborn, then I’ll just  _ force  _ them to reset.  _

Kris felt themself reach for the sword at their belt, Papyrus’ back turned to them and completely oblivious. They saw Sans’ eye sockets stretch in horror, and Frisk jerked in his grip. 

“Papyrus!”

They swung their sword.

_ Sshk.  _

Red blood dripped down the blade, dribbling onto Kris’ hands and staining the crisp snow below. 

Papyrus was several paces away from the human, unharmed and his arms raised in horror. 

Kris’ knees trembled, their energy quickly fading as they pulled the sword back out of their chest, feeling their soul shudder and crack once more. 

As it turned out, resisting the demon was a lot easier when Kris’ soul was still intact and in their body. All it had taken was a simple twitch to redirect the attack. 

Their knees gave out from under them, the blood pooling underneath their chest and distantly wondered if the attack had hurt the black tar, considering Kris had aimed straight for their own soul. 

Something turned them over onto their back, and they saw two pale skulls staring down at them. Their voices were unclear, but even Papyrus’ shouts being nothing more than garbled murmurs, they understood what the two were talking about when the taller skeleton raised his gloved hands and a green energy flowed out of them. The stab wound suddenly wasn’t quite so painful, but Kris knew that it was too late. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and the their vision was fading off into nothing. 

A third face appeared in their line of sight: a mop of brown hair, and two wide, brown, tearful eyes. 

“Kris!” They could hear Frisk yelling with surprising clarity, tears falling down their cheeks. “No no no, please don’t! Don’t leave me!”

The knight felt horrible making the child cry, and they tried to give a gentle smile to comfort them.  _ It’s okay,  _ they desperately wished they could say.  _ It’s not your fault.  _

Their face felt numb, and Kris wasn’t sure if they’d actually managed to smile or not. Either way, Frisk only seemed to cry even more, their voice becoming more jumbled and faded. 

“-fix it! H- on! I’ll-I’ll fix this!”

They couldn’t see anything anymore. All they could do was feel the sinking exhaustion seeping into their skull. 

“Kris? No no st- -th me please!”

“...”

“Kris!  _ Stay determi- _ !“

 

\---

 

The knight’s eyes snapped open. They were standing in the middle of Snowdin, their arm outstretched and resting on the twirling star in front of the building.

 

_ What.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy! What a fun time
> 
> Sorry, I'm not sure when the next chapter is going to come, my plans are now at a bit of a vague clusterfuck that I need to puzzle together before I can write anything


	9. Determination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some battles are fought multiple times and Chara learns something new every day.

Sans was in the middle of his third basket of fries when he heard the door to the diner slam open. He casually glanced back, only for his posture to straighten at the sight of Kris striding toward them. 

He plastered on a relaxed smile. “Hey, Kris. You hungry too-”

The skeleton’s sentence was cut off as the knight gripped onto his arm and pulled him closer. “You’re coming with me,” Their voice gave him no room for refusal. 

Sans gave him a sidelong glance. “Um...for what?”

“There’s no time. Frisk and Papyrus are in danger. Frisk asked for you for a reason, you’re coming to help me.”

Sans shook himself out of the knight’s grip, lifting his hands. “Oh, no. Sorry Kris, but I won’t be much help-”

“I know your statistics, you’re the ‘easiest enemy,’” Kris interrupted. “You’ve told me already.”

The skeleton blinked at the knight’s impatient response. “What--you’re a time traveller?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, why don’t you prove-”

“There’s no time!” Kris ran their fingers through their hair angrily, before they suddenly reached for Sans again. He jolted as he felt himself lifted from the chair and tucked underneath an arm. “Frisk is possessed. You’re helping me.”

That sentence set off all the alarm bells in Sans’ skull, and he struggled a little, sweat beginning to drip down his head. “H-hold on, Kris-” 

The knight ignored him, dashing through the doors and into the crisp cold air, sprinting through the town carrying Sans like he barely weighed anything. He knew struggling was useless, but he wasn’t sure if he preferred doing nothing, for once, considering what the knight was likely sprinting toward. 

 

\---

 

Frisk was struggling against Chara’s grip again, and the fallen human growled, pressing a thumb back down against the movement. 

“You know that’s useless, Frisk,” The human waved the knife around casually, making their way to the edge of town. “Even if you managed a reset after that knight pulled me out, it did nothing. Now they and that skeleton have no hope of catching up to us, now that we’ve gotten a head start.”

Frisk didn’t immediately reply, and Chara took it as a minor victory. 

_ What’s the point of attacking Papyrus anymore then? You got your reset, why are you still here? _

Chara scoffed. “You think that’s all I needed to see? That those were all the answers I needed? We still need to find out how your little bodyguard ended up here in the first place.”

_ How do you know them. _

“That’s not of importance to you,” Chara twiddled with the knife as they reached the edge of Waterfall. They hummed. “Kris will likely begin searching for you soon. I wonder what would happen if they couldn’t find you here? If we just kept walking on through Waterfall?”

_ What would that achieve.  _

“Nothing,” Chara shrugged. “We just need to get to the lab.”

_ What? _

“I have a feeling that the lizard’s notes on determination might be helpful in our little quest for answers.”

Frisk didn’t respond after that, and Chara was grateful. They squinted through the darkness ahead, wondering if they’d see Papyrus somehow approaching earlier than before. There was nothing there, though, and the fallen human smiled at their own paranoia. 

Their thoughts were cut off and their smile vanished at the familiar-yet-grating sound of clanking metal, and they whirled around. 

Sure enough, two figures emerged from the fog, just as the previous time: a hostile and angry Kris dragging along a stupid skeleton. 

The only problem was that Sans was in Kris’ arms, not behind the knight. Or that Kris hadn’t drawn their blade yet. 

Or, more obviously, they’d arrived far sooner than before. 

It was all different. 

Chara narrowed their eyes, looking at the cautious and steady stance of the knight. 

They had remembered the previous reset. 

The fallen human snorted. Figures. With such a close level of determination, it only made sense that they’d remember the rests, just like Flowey. 

It must have slipped Chara’s mind, and they cursed themselves for such a foolish oversight.

“Demon,” Kris sounded a little more out of breath this time. “I’m only saying this once: Let. Frisk. Go.”

“Funny,” Chara grinned. “From what I recall, you’ve said it already before.”

“So you remember,” Chara couldn’t see Kris’ eyes, but they could imagine the glare. 

“Of course I do. After all, I’m possessing the human that reset it.”

“What?” Kris’ stance lowered a little. “When did you save?”

Chara tilted their head, opening their mouth for a casual response, before stopping themselves. 

They had remembered waking up in Papyrus’ bed after Frisk’s reset. 

But that didn’t make sense, there wasn’t a save point in his room. There never was. They had saved shortly after leaving the house, so why hadn’t they woken up there?

Chara blinked, suddenly seeing the flash of armor dashing toward them, and the human dodged away from the punch. They grit their teeth, combing through the memory again. 

They hadn’t woken up next to a save point. 

Damn it all, Frisk had known from the very beginning, hadn’t they?

…

Their silence was telling.  

Kris was still attacking them, but strangely enough they were simultaneously yelling at the skeleton to get him to do something. He was stubborn in his laziness though, and Chara took some humor in watching the knight crash into the brick wall that was Sans’ apathy. 

Their grin vanished as another blow lashed out, just barely scraping their cheek. Chara growled in frustration--there were far too many things to keep track of: Their conversation, Kris’ attacks, and all of the ideas swirling around in Chara’s head. So far the one that stood out the most was the idea that Kris had somehow managed to reset without Chara controlling them, not to mention without losing to Frisk’s own enormous reservoir of determination. 

A reservoir the fallen human had only remembered when they felt something suddenly punch through a barrier, deep in their chest. 

Chara skid to a stop, gripping their chest tightly. They tried their best to hold Frisk down once more, but the human was slippery, and seemed to weave out of the grip and continue rising to the surface of control. What was happening was clearly visible to outsiders as the knight had stopped their attacks, their stance showing a little confusion. 

Sweat dripped down the human’s brow as Chara pushed back against Frisk’s resistance. “No,” They spoke through gritted teeth. “You gave your soul to  _ me,  _ you don’t just get to  _ take it all back _ .”

Hearing that sentence gave the fallen human a new surge of strength, and the brightness of Frisk’s soul began to wane as it was pushed back again down, slowly being buried to the darkest depths of consciousness. 

However, before the soul’s power was completely repressed again, a single, outstretched hand slipped through the cracks. It strained its fingers, reaching desperately outward, and slammed down on a button in the menu.

Both their visions were filled with white, before Chara found themselves standing again, their hand on a save point. They had just left the house of the skeleton brothers. 

They gripped their hair in frustration. “What,  _ now  _ you can reset? Then what the hell was that before?!”

…

They still weren’t responding. 

Just  _ perfect. _

The fallen human quickly began making their way to the edge of Snowdin. No doubt the knight had remembered this reset, too, and was already making their way toward the two of them. 

Chara stood in the dense fog, shifting the knife between each hand. They listened intently, just in case Kris decided to throw their damn shield again. They turned at the sound of rustling metal, and froze in utter confusion. 

It was the knight and skeleton, the latter being carried by the former again. In fact, it was identical to how the two had acted the previous reset. Chara didn’t have a watch, but they bet that the two arrived at the exact same time as before. 

The fallen human didn’t entertain either of them with banter this time, but they weren’t giving the battle their all yet. 

None of this was making any sense. 

It wasn’t like Flowey, who had lost his ability to reset but still remembered everything. 

It wasn’t like Frisk, as Kris had only reset near death. 

Chara paused. It was their turn. Their hand hovered, gripping tightly on the knife, before moving it to the side and not attacking for once.   

[CHECK] 

Chara flitted their eyes across the text appearing in their line of sight.  _ Kris. A lightner knight from another world, in more ways than one.  _

…

The text continued. Chara’s eyes widened, before flinching back at another attack from the knight in question. Still, despite the close call, the fallen human couldn’t help but grin to themselves. 

How interesting. 

Chara dug their heels into the snow, drawing two dark lines in the ground and slowing themselves to a stop. It was their turn again. 

This all changed things, didn’t it, Frisk?

It required a change of plans. The fallen human looked up at their adversary. Kris’ posture was a little hunched, somewhat tired from the exertion of the battle. 

Such a curious anomaly. Chara needed to know more. They had been too presumptuous, too eager to act. They needed to be more careful. 

“Quite the impressive fighter, aren’t you?” The Knight didn’t lower their stance, only narrowing their eyes. 

Chara tilted their head. “What do you remember?”

“I’m not going to let you hurt Frisk, or Papyrus, or  _ anyone  _ else,  _ demon.”  _ They spat out the last word. 

The fallen human laughed. “So violent.” They casually glanced over at the skeleton standing behind the knight. He hadn’t tried attacking during any of the fights, and this one was no different. It didn’t surprise the human: it had taken killing all of his friends and summoning Chara before he finally decided to lift a finger bone.  

What did surprise them was his expression: in so many of their resets, they had almost never seen the skeleton drop his casual, goofy attitude. Whenever he did, it was always to appear threatening to Frisk. 

But now, he wore an expression of complete shock and fear. It was a foreign sight, and Chara’s grin widened. 

_ “all i know is...seeing what comes next...i can’t afford not to care anymore.” _

Chara’s presence said it all to him. This timeline had reached a point of no return, and Sans had already failed, back in a lifetime he could no longer remember. 

“You’re lagging, knight. Even if it’s obvious you’re not giving your all.”

Kris’ expression didn’t change. “You’re not quite as fast either.”

The fallen human huffed, but gave no response. A smile slowly parted their face once more, and their shoulders shook as they chuckled. 

“I’ll admit, you’re much tougher than I thought,” Chara hummed, tilting their head. “It seems you’ve bested me.”

Three heads - Sans’, Kris’, and Frisk’s - lifted in surprise. “What?”

“You heard me, knight,” Chara was already beginning to feel themselves slip away as they slowly lifted their thumb off of Frisk’s soul. They gave a wide grin. “You win. Have fun getting Frisk to explain all of this.”

With that final declaration, the fallen human finally let go of Frisk’s soul, and the child fell backwards into the snow, unconscious. They watched with distant amusement at the sight of Kris and Sans panicking at the sudden turn of events. 

They’d remain distant for now. They needed more time to observe, but they felt they were actually beginning to understand what had brought this disruptive human to the Underground. 

There was no need to go to the CORE anymore, at least not immediately. For now, they’d let the humans have their little journey. It was guaranteed to be entertaining, at least. 

 

\---

 

Frisk finally felt warm after having that deep chill coat their soul in the past few days. It was an immense relief, and they curled deeper into the blankets wrapped around them.  _ I’m in Papyrus’ room again _ , they thought distantly as they recognized the dark pattern of squares on the covers. 

The cold fingers that had been curled around Frisk for days were finally gone, and they were almost relieved enough to ignore the worrying and confusing reasons as to why. What had Chara seen in Frisk’s body to make them stop. What had they  _ done _ while in control?

The human was snapped out of their anxious stewing as they felt a weight settle onto the foot of the bed. They propped themselves up and their breath caught in their throat at the sight of Kris, blue skin and shining armour and all, sitting with their hands in their lap. 

“Kris…” Frisk croaked, their throat feeling horrible. They leaned closer to the knight. The blue human wasn’t moving. 

Frisk swallowed the lump in their throat. They shakily reached a hand out to the knight’s arm. “Kris, I-”

The human was cut off, as the moment their palm settled on the armour, Kris quickly reached out and pulled the child into a tight hug. 

It was so  _ warm _ . Frisk could feel tears pooling around their eyes. “Kris, I...I’m so sorry,” They sobbed, tightly gripping onto the knight’s shawl. “I’m so, so sorry, I never meant-” They hiccupped. “I never meant for this-”

Kris squeezed them even tighter, gently shushing Frisk. “Just get some rest.” Their voice was quiet and soft. 

The knight gently let go, standing up from the bed. “We’ll talk later, alright?”

Frisk quietly nodded, pulling in the covers and watching Kris leave the room. The knight opened the door and paused. They finally looked at the human directly, and Frisk could see their eyes, brown and filled with concern. “Frisk…” They glanced away for a moment. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

With that, the knight left, closing the door and leaving the child in silence. Their knuckles gripped the blankets at their lap, their lips quivering as tears began to escape from the corner of their eyes once more. 

“N-no…” The child cried with voiceless breaths, making sure that the others wouldn’t hear. “No, I’m not okay…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good lord, is this chapter late! Sorry I've been lazing about so much, I decided to finally take a break after finals and graduation and the days just started slipping by me. We'll be ending what I'm now calling the Snowdin arc soon after this and we'll be finally moving into Waterfall.


	10. I'm Very Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk finally tells the truth. All of it. Kris tries to figure things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't realized a month had passed until I looked at the last updated thing on this fic and was like "oh shit." I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but you guys deserve an update and I didn't want to make you guys wait longer. I might come back and fix this once this whole story is all over, who knows.

After a week of no progress in Frisk’s sickness, the kid had finally managed to recover in just under an hour after their battle, stepping out of Papyrus’ room rosy and rubbing their eyes. 

Of course, the new knowledge that the young human hadn’t contracted just a simple cold made their sudden recovery just another grim reminder of the situation. Kris leaned back on the couch, their armor discarded, watching the child make their way down the stairs as Papyrus busied himself in the kitchen. Sans was sitting beside the knight, his skull still stuck in its bemused grin, and Kris avoided eye contact with him. They still felt a little spiteful at how little help the skeleton had truly been in either of their battles against the demon, and they now were wondering what in the world Frisk was thinking in reaching out for his help. 

_ It’s possible he was just the only one around to speak to,  _ Kris berated themselves.  _ If you had been around more you probably could have seen the warning signs yourself instead of letting Sans trying to piece it all together.  _

The knight was snapped out of their thoughts as they felt a weight shift on the couch, and glanced over to realize that Frisk had sat down on the other side. They looked a little uncomfortable under the gaze of both Kris and Sans, which looked to be out of shame and guilt, a sight that made Kris’ chest hurt.  _ It’s not your fault you’ve been possessed, kid. Please don’t feel bad about what you’ve done.  _

“Are you okay, Frisk?” Kris made sure to keep their voice low. 

The child wasn’t looking at them, simply keeping their hands in their lap. 

The knight sighed. “Look, I know that was all scary. Getting possessed by that... _ thing  _ is an awful experience that no one should have. I don’t know how it managed to follow me here, but I promise you that we’ll figure out a way to get rid of it once and for all. Just, don’t beat yourself up about what it made you do. I’m not angry.”

“Did you…”

Kris’ turned their head. For some reason, the kid seemed to still be afraid of something as they mustered up the courage to speak. 

“When did it start possessing you, Kris?”

The knight pressed their lips together tightly. “I was pretty young.”

“Did you…” Frisk wrung their hands together. “Did you do anything bad?”

“What, to deserve it?” Kris furrowed their eyebrows, and the child winced and shook their head. 

“Did you ever talk to Ch-the demon?”

“No, it never spoke with me. Can it speak without a host?”

Kris’ question was tossed to the side as the knight heard a choking sound, and they blinked to see silent tears dripping down Frisk’s cheeks. “Hey hey, what’s wrong?” The knight gingerly reached over and pulled the child into a hug. 

“I’m so, so sorry, Kris,” Frisk sobbed into the knight’s shirt. “You don’t-I just…”

“Hey, deep breaths, Frisk,” Kris was brought back to times when their mother comforted them after a nightmare as they rubbed circles into Frisk’s back. “You don’t have to be sorry for anything-”

“The possession. It was my own choice.”

Kris froze, and the child curled into an even tighter ball at feeling the tension of the knight’s muscles.  _ The hell? _

Frisk wasn’t done. They had already started, and they were going to finish it. They took a long, shaky breath before continuing. 

“The demon...I created them. Their name is Chara.”

 

\---

 

A part of Sans knew he shouldn’t have been surprised. Even listening to the kid’s story, he felt a similar sensation of disconnect that he had every day.  _ Of course this would happen. Of course I would fail at stopping this kid, there was never a way to truly stop them anyway. That’s why you’re like this, after all.  _

Still, hearing Frisk detail how they wiped out every monster in the Underground was unsettling, and he could feel his grip on the couch tightening as they described their encounter with the semi-resurrected Chara, and the deal that they had made to get everything back after having destroyed it all on their own. One thing that Chara had said to Frisk stuck out to Sans, though, and he could guess that Kris had picked up on it as well. 

_ Let us erase this pointless world, and move onto the next.  _

It seemed as if Chara had made good on that proposal, and the next world had been Kris’. 

He couldn’t see the knight’s face as Frisk told the story, and in all honesty Sans wasn’t sure how they were feeling. He had seen how protective and caring Kris was with the kid, and how furious they had been when they saw Chara. He could only imagine how poorly they mixed, like the different temperatures that formed a destructive tornado once they crashed together. 

Judging by Frisk’s face once they were done, they weren’t sure how Kris would react either. They curled up into a tighter ball in the corner of the couch, as if they were trying to fall between the cushions. Sans leaned over, trying to get a look at the knight’s facial expression. 

“I don’t believe you.”

Sans raised his eyebrows at Kris’ response to the story, while Frisk only winced at the stern tone, though they didn’t look surprised. Kris shook their head. “No, no, none of that sounds right. Are you  _ positive  _ that’s what all happened? Are you not misconstruing something?”

“I-I…” Frisk stammered, and Sans spotted a moment to step in. 

“I can help with proof, I think,” Kris whirled around to look at them and the skeleton shrugged. “If you’d like.”

The knight narrowed their eyes at him. They sat there for a moment, as if they were trying to read through the skeleton’s casual posture, before nodding. 

Sans sighed, standing up and sending all three of them through the shortcut to the lab behind the house. Kris was a bit disoriented from the travel, but when they came to their senses, they looked around with an open mouth. Frisk, of course, was unsurprised by the teleportation and sight of the lab, or at least were surprised in a way that showed they’d already been here.  _ ‘Course they were.  _

Sans pulled the sheet off of the continuum reader in one swift motion. He gestured a casual hand to the large and complex machinery. “This thing reads the timespace continuum, and I can see the status of other timelines.” 

He pointed at the screen. “See over here? These curves and cuts on the line are from your battle earlier today. You guys reset a couple of times, right?”

Kris still had their mouth a little open and didn’t respond, while Frisk gave a quiet “Yep.”

Sans nodded a little, before typing some things into the machine, searching up on updates on the past timelines. He’d been planning to check up on them once the humans finally left the village, but as the screen popped up its results, he felt a sinking feeling of regret that he hadn’t looked sooner. 

Literally dozens of timelines had stopped and started, each one centered around the same place: The Judgement Room. 

“Gave you quite hard time, eh, Frisk?” Sans glanced over at the two humans, the child sad and the knight with their jaw dropped. 

“How many times...how many did you-”

“Die? About thirty-three.” Frisk looked away, shrugging as they interrupted Kris. “I told Sans I’d keep count.”

The skeleton sighed, and looked back at the single timeline that kept going past all the others. The tracker followed it for a little longer, when the screen suddenly went blank. 

The timeline hadn’t stopped. It had completely vanished, and there was nothing for the tracker to find. Sans would have found it unsettling and worrying before, but now he simply continued scrolling through, and soon enough a new one had suddenly cropped up, seemingly from nowhere.  _ Their  _ reality. 

Sans turned back to the two humans. “Is that enough proof for you, Kris?”

The knight seemed to have a lot of questions as they lifted a finger, opening up their mouth. There was a mix of frustration, anger, confusion, and most of all betrayal. They were practically bursting to say something. 

But instead, they just pressed their lips together, shook their head, and quickly left the room, slamming the door behind them.  

Sans sighed again, and looked back to Frisk. “Should I expect that Chara to possess you again and finish me off?”

Frisk shrugged. “I don’t think so, though I’m not entirely why they left in the first place.”

Sans leaned back on the machine, letting his head tilt backward and hit the metal. “I guess making it to the surface is even more pointless now.”

Frisk stood a little straighter, their eyes widening. “What do you mean?”

“Do you really think you can get your happy ending now, kid? With that thing possessing you and probably waiting for access to the whole surface?” Sans waved a hand. “It was willing to torture a version of itself, it seems. Where do you think it’ll stop?” 

Frisk gripped the blanket in their hands tightly. Tears pricked at the edge of their eyes. “What do I do now?”

Sans gave a half-hearted shrug. “Same as ever. Whatever you want. The rest of our decisions don’t matter, remember?”

The child winced at the remark. “Even Kris?”

“We’re all bound by the same rules, aren’t we?”

That seemed to stop Frisk. Something in their demeanor change, and he saw their brown eyes widen in a sudden realization. “But-no, wait…”

Sans raised an eyebrow, about to ask what Frisk was talking about, but before he could get a word in the child had sprinted out the door and left Sans alone. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little relieved that the kid was gone. Both of them, in fact. He’d had enough action for a lifetime, let alone one week.  

 

\---

 

None of the members of Snowdin approached Kris as they stomped through the snow, most likely seeing the knight’s mood and not wanting to bother them. Kris was thankful at how considerate they were, because at the present moment, they felt like destroying something. They clenched their hands into tight fists as they made a sharp turn to the edge of Snowdin town, hiding themselves behind a nearby tree. They curled up into a ball, burying their head into their knees as they tried to control their breathing. 

_ None of this makes any sense. No, it  _ does  _ make sense, doesn’t it?  _ That’s  _ the real problem. Back when the demon possessed you, they had said something to Sans. What was it? “Hello again?”  _

_ Face it. For such a strange story, it explains a surprising amount.   _

But for Kris, what did that mean? Not only did it seem the knight couldn’t escape the demon, but now they were in its birthplace, in a world completely under its thumb with the child that created it in the first place. Kris took a slow, shaky breath, watching the chilled clouds form. 

“Aww, is something wrong?” 

The high pitched, so-saccharine-it-was-sarcastic voice made Kris jolt up, and they whirled their head to see a familiar yellow flower popping out of the earth in front of them. He gave a smug little grin. “I’ll admit, seeing you so distraught is a  _ little  _ satisfy-”

The knight cut Flowey off as they pulled out their sword and aimed it at his face. Surprisingly, the monster reeled back at the motion with an expression of both fear and anger. “Hey! Watch it!”

“Did you know?” Kris gritted their teeth. 

“Know what?! Put that thing down!”

“Back then, you told me that Frisk would stab me in the back. You said they were sharpening their knife.” Kris inched the blade closer to Flowey’s face. “Did. You.  _ Know _ ?”

The flower rolled his eyes. “What, did the brat finally decide to ditch you? Can’t say I’m surprised, kids are terrible in general. Have you ever dealt with them before?”

Kris narrowed their eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“What are  _ you  _ talking about?!” Flowey sneered. 

“The demon!” Kris stood up. “Kara-Chara-whatever its name was! Did you know that it was possessing Frisk?!”

“What?” The plant looked genuinely taken aback for what seemed like the first time. 

Kris closed their eyes, recomposing themselves.  _ Right,  _ they thought.  _ Frisk said that the reset had reversed everyone’s memories, including Flowey. _

“Chara?” Kris reopened their eyes at the strangely meek voice, only to be surprised at the sight of Flowey almost trembling. “You mean-you’re not-”

Kris felt something in their chest grow cold. “You knew the Chara of this world?”

“Who are you?” Flowey had reared back in suspicion now, and Kris could see that he would vanish if they weren’t careful.  _ Crap. Did something I say scare  _ him _? The psychopathic flower? _

They took a slow step forward, holding out their hand. “My name is Kris. Did you...think I was someone else?”

Flowey didn’t respond, simply staring at the outstretched hand. 

“Did you think I was Chara?”

“I-I…”

_ But you called us siblings earlier… _

Kris suddenly retracted their hand, as if burned. Something about the appearance of the flower had been so familiar to Kris, but they had assumed it to just be the similarities to the flowers that the knight had woken up in before. 

But now that they looked at each trait one by one, they realized where they had seen this type of flower before, and couldn’t believe that they hadn’t pieced it together before. 

It was Asgore’s favorite flower to grow, they had always lined the walls in his home, and he always gave a bouquet of them to mom, which she always promptly threw in the trash. Their sweet smell had become a familiar aspect of the kitchen. 

_ Yet another connection to our family… _

“You…” Flowey looked up at Kris as they started slowly. “What is your name?”

The flower’s expression of curiosity and worry quickly shifted into a more familiar snarl. “Are you a moron? I told you already, it’s Flow-”

“Is it though?” Flowey looked mildly offended at Kris interrupting him. “Because no other monsters are named like that, you know?”

_ Almost like it was made up.  _ “What are you?”

Flowey’s angry expression faded into something softer, but with Kris’ barely whispered question his face suddenly split in a grin and he began laughing. 

“What’s so funny?” Kris narrowed their eyes, but Flowey still kept snickering. 

His face shifted into that of a skull. “Why don’t you ask the stupid lizard?” 

“Lizard?” Kris murmured. 

“The idiot scientist down at the CORE,” Flowey grinned smugly as he began sinking back into the earth. “Why don’t you see what she’s up to?”

With that, the edges of the flower’s petals vanished in the snow, leaving Kris with only his last directions. “The CORE?”

They briefly remembered hearing Frisk mention it in their story - along with a brief battle with a strange robot - but it had been brushed over with the rest of the events. Why did Flowey want them to go there? Why couldn’t he explain things himself for once? Kris ran a hand through their hair.  _ Should I even be travelling with Frisk, now that I know that the demon could possess them anytime? _

_ You knew the demon could possess you back when you decided to look after the kid, didn’t you? _

A loud splash suddenly snapped Kris out of their thoughts, and they looked over to see an enormous ice cube floating in the water at the edge of the town. Furrowing their eyebrows, they watched as another ice cube suddenly appeared from behind the trees with another splash. 

Carefully standing back up, Kris made their way around the trees and saw a small house connected to a large conveyor belt, with a large gray wolf picking up the enormous ice cubes that emerged from the building and tossing them into the water behind him. 

The entire system appeared extremely inefficient. Why wasn’t the conveyor belt just next to the water? The knight leaned over the fence. “Excuse me,”

The wolf didn’t seem to hear them over the noise of the conveyor belt, or they were ignoring him. “Excuse me!”

“Can’t talk,” Kris just barely heard the wolf growl. “Must keep tossing ice.”

“But why are you tossing ice?” 

“CORE is too hot,” the wolf yelled back. “The water takes the ice to the CORE to cool it down.”

Kris raised their eyebrows.  _ Does this river really lead all the way to the CORE?  _ They looked at the ice cubes floating along in the water.  _ Those are really big, huh… _

Suddenly, an idea popped into the knight’s head. They gripped the wooden fence as a familiar sensation of determination swell in their chest just a little. 

_ But should Frisk be coming along with me? _

Kris shook their head.  _ I need to talk with them anyways about all this. It’s possible I shouldn’t even go to the CORE. Why would I listen to that flower, anyway? This is all crazy.  _

Yet, as they walked back to the house of the skeleton brothers, all they could think about was what they could find in the CORE that Flowey would refuse to tell himself.  

Kris also wondered if they should still be calling him Flowey, for that matter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't guarantee that the next chapter will come out sooner than this one did, but we've almost entirely gone through the snowdin arc! Waterfall won't be nearly as long, I hadn't expected these two to have spent so much time in Snowdin, yet here we are.


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